We are just over two months away from Windows 8 being sold pre-installed on PCs, but it seems that consumers and businesses are going to be on the sidelines in terms of buying new PCs until Windows 8 officially launches.
The research firm IDC reports that it now expects worldwide shipments of PCs to increase by just 0.9 percent in 2012. The firm claims that it now sees PC shipment numbers in Asia slowing down, while other parts of the world, including the US, are expected to see a decline in their PC orders.
I'll just wait to get a new PC for my office, thanks.
David Daoud, the research director for Personal Computing at IDC, states:
The U.S. market will remain depressed until Windows 8 products hit the shelves in the fourth quarter of 2012. The industry is responding by reducing shipments of PCs and clearing Windows 7-based inventories to pave the way for a new generation of systems. But, as we move into the tail end of the third quarter, PC activity will continue to slow as demand drops. The third-quarter back to school season is also proving to be a challenging period, despite prices dropping to their lowest levels. We expect the year will end with shipments in the U.S. falling by 3.7%, marking the second consecutive year of contraction.
Microsoft has already offered to give anyone who purchases a new Windows 7-based PC a way to get an upgrade to Windows 8 for just $14.99 from now until January 31, 2013. However, it appears that offer may not be enough to get many consumers to go ahead and buy a new PC ahead of the October 26th launch of Windows 8.
The good news is that after the launch of Windows 8, IDC predicts that PC shipments will grow an average of 7.1 percent worldwide every year from 2013 to 2016.
Source: IDC
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