A new forecast published by IDC indicates that the PC market could go down by a solid clip in 2022 compared to last year. And the tablet industry is also expected to follow suit and decline.
However, despite some significant drops, yearly stats for the industry overall are likely to be significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Full details are available here, which reveal that despite the drop, things are still far better than before 2020, when the entire industry was reset, with sales rocketing due to people moving to remove working.
Some numbers, then.
The research firm predicts that the PC market is on track for an 8.2% decline versus the previous year, with sales to total approximately 321.2 million units. The tablet industry is expected to end up at a minus 6.2% to 158 million units.
IDC says:
“Despite the lower forecast for 2022, PC shipments are expected to remain well above pre-pandemic levels as upcoming device refreshes, robust commercial demand, and uptake within emerging markets continue to be drivers for the industry. And IDC expects shipments to return to positive annual growth in 2023 and beyond, although this year’s decline will result in a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -0.6%. Meanwhile, tablets face a larger decline over the same period as competition from PCs as well as smartphones will continue to inhibit growth, leading to a -2.0% CAGR.”
In addition to pandemic-related problems, the two industries are also likely to struggle with other issues caused by the war in Ukraine and the rising inflation.
The company’s research continues to show strong demand and supply activities in the commercial PC market, but it is seeing increasing concerns in the consumer and education markets that are bound to result in reduced orders.
We march on!
