The analyst company IDC has announced that it expects PC and tablet sales to decline this year and next year due to market conditions. It said PC shipments are forecast to fall 12.8% in 2022 and tablets will fall 6.8%. It said the main causes of the decline were inflation weakening the global economy and a surge in purchases over the last two years, lessening demand.
Aside from a fall in 2022, IDC says these markets will contract further in 2023. This will be due to slowed consumer demand, education’s demand already being fulfilled, and enterprises being pushed out of buying new hardware due to weak economic conditions. Combined, these two sectors are expected to decline by 2.6% in 2023 before growing again in 2024.
Commenting on the findings, Linn Huang from IDC said:
“With economic headwinds gaining speed, we expect worsening consumer sentiment to result in further consumer market contractions over the next six quarters. Economic recovery in time for the next major refresh cycle could propel some growth in the outer years of our forecast. Though volumes won"t hit pandemic peaks, we expect the consumer market to drive towards more premium ends of the market.”
IDC’s worldwide personal computer device forecast for this year is 462.1 million shipments, down 10.8% from the year before. Longer term, it expects shipments to start growing again, with a total of 477.7 million in 2026.