Over the past years, global PC and laptop ownership and usage have significantly decreased, mainly replaced by smartphones. The downsizing trend continued this year, with PC shipments seeing a double-digit drop.
According to data presented by SportsLens.com, global PC shipments totaled 56.9 million units in Q1 2023, almost 30% less than in the same quarter a year ago.
PC Shipments Fall for Three Quarters in a Row
Last year, a perfect storm of supply chain issues, the China lockdown, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and global inflation slashed global demand for PCs, bringing the steepest drop since the 1990s. But, the negative trend continued in 2023.
According to Statista and IDC data, global PC shipments totaled 80.2 million units in the first quarter of 2022, or 4.5 million units less than in the same quarter in 2021. Over the next three months, global PC shipments dropped by another 11% to 71.3 million. After a short recovery and the number of shipments rising to 74.3 million in Q3 2022, the last three months saw another downturn, with the total number of shipped PCs falling by almost 10% to 67.2 million. Still, that was nothing compared to the drop in the first months of 2023. Statistics show global PC shipments plunged by another 15% in three months of the year, falling to 56.9 million worldwide. This also represents the third consecutive quarter of shipment decline.
Statistics also show Lenovo and Dell saw the biggest shipment decrease, falling by 30% year-over-year. As the largest PC vendor globally, Lenovo shipped 12.7 million PCs between January and March, down from 18.3 million in the year-ago period. Dell’s shipments totaled 9.5 million in Q1 2023, down from 13.7 million in the same quarter a year ago. HP shipped 12 million PCs in the three months, showing a 24% drop year-over-year.
Global Spending on PCs, Tablets, and Mobile Phones Plunge by $36.5bn in 2023
The latest drop in PC shipments comes as inflation continues to crumble consumer purchasing power. At the same time, PCs and laptops are losing the race with mobile phones, the most owned device among internet users. Nevertheless, all IT devices are set to witness a significant drop in global demand this year.
According to Gartner, consumers worldwide will spend $685.6bn on PCs, tablets, and mobile phones in 2023, or $36.5bn less than last year. The latest drop follows a 10% decline in 2022, when global spending on IT devices amounted to $722.1bn.
Statistics show the two-year drop in global consumer spending on PCs, tablets, and mobile phones is expected to hit a whopping $150bn this year.