Global PC market revenue increased even as shipments fell: Canalys

The global PC market has had a good start to the year as overall revenue grew more than 15 per cent, despite the first year-on-year shipment decline, according to research firm Canalys. Worldwide shipments of desktops and notebooks fell 3 per cent annually to 80.1 million units due to geopolitical turmoil and softening consumer demand, according to the report.
According to a preliminary analysis from Gartner, PC shipments declined 7.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same year.
But according to Canalys, revenue hit $70 billion as prices continued to rise due to the supply-starved market and as consumer appetite for costlier PCs kept increasing.
“With no clear timeline on when these issues will be resolved, and the possibility of other black swan events, the industry must be prepared to tackle a new set of challenges and respond with the same resilience it has showed over the last two years,” said Ishan Dutt, senior analyst in Canalys, in reference to the war in Ukraine and COVID-related lockdowns in key Chinese manufacturing cities like Shenzhen and Shanghai.

Notebook shipments reduced 6 per cent year-on-year to reach 63.2 million units but desktop shipment figures grew 13 per cent to reach 16.8 million units. According to Canalys, revenue outlook and confidence in the PC market remain high despite shipments having been hindered external shocks.
Lenovo remained the top PC vendor in the market in the first quarter of 2022 despite a 10 per cent decline in shipments with 18.2 million units. HP held on to second position despite suffering the biggest decline amongst the top five vendors: its shipments fell 18 per cent year-on-year to 15.8 million units.
According to Gartner, Lenovo and HP shipments suffered due to the decline in Chromebook shipments.
According to Canalys, Dell posted a healthy growth rate of 6 per cent propelled its strong commercial focus and came in third place with 13.7 million units shipped. Apple and Asus increased shipments 8 per cent and 24 per cent, ranking fourth and fifth respectively. According to Canalys, this is the quarter when Asus has secured a spot amongst the top five vendors since Q3 2017.
Gartner reports that the US saw the most significant impact from weakened Chromebook sales. The EMEA PC market decreased 6.3 per cent year-on-year. part from weak Chromebook demand, the Russian invasion of Ukraine also had a significant impact on the EMEA regions’s PC sales.
Gartner also reported that the Asia Pacific market (excluding Japan) grew 4.1 per cent year-over-year, driven the demand for mobile PCs.