The global PC market continues its slow descent. This time due to higher prices caused by a parts shortage. There was marginally good news for HP as it regained top PC vendor spot; but that was a Pyrrhic victory as sales continue to slump.
PC sales totally 61.1 million units in the second quarter of 2016, down by 4.3 percent from the same period last year. This marks the 11th straight quarter of decline for sales, and there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight.
Analysts from both Gartner and IDC are blaming this continued problem on a shortage of DRAM, solid state drives, and LCD displays. All of which have resulted in increasing prices for computers. The parts shortage has also impacted vendors who have been locked into enterprise contracts to supply PCs for a fixed price before problems began.
The PC slump has even begun to be seen in Asia Pacific, which has traditionally shown to have resilient sales. GST reform in India has slowed sales due to uncertainty, and China has been slow overall.
People are buying fewer PCs than ever, possibly due to smartphones replacing them as media consumption devices. It’s going to be a rough time for manufacturers, but the numbers have to reach an equilibrium at some point.
