The COVID-19 outbreak has triggered the most significant fall in PC shipments since 2013, as pandemic affected supply chains and forced consumers to prioritize their spending.
After a sharp fall in the first quarter of 2020, global PC shipments have grown in the last eight months. However, it wasn’t enough to alleviate the revenue loss of the entire industry this year.
Global PC sales revenue is expected to plunge by $31.4bn amid the COVID-19 outbreak, falling to $202.2bn in 2020 and laptop sales will plunge by $19.4B YoY, 60% of the entire industry loss in 2020, according to data presented by Italian financial analyst site Finaria.it.
The rise in use of smartphones and the global shift from hardware to cloud solutions has driven a decline in global PC sales for years. Between 2011 and 2017, PC shipments fell by 30%, to 262.7 million units sold. The 2018 shortage of Intel central processing units reduced global shipments to 259.7 million, down from 2007 levels.
The rise in smartphone usage and the global shift from hardware to cloud solutions had been driving a downturn in global PC sales for years. Between 2011 and 2017, PC shipments dropped by 30% to 262.7 million sold units. The 2018 shortage in Intel central processing units cut global shipments to 259.7 million, under 2007 levels.
The entire PC industry’s revenue amounted to $231.3bn that year, revealed the Statista Technology Market Outlook. In the next twelve months, this figure modestly increased to $233.6bn. However, the coronavirus pandemic triggered the worst market contraction in years, despite the rising demand for PCs and laptops due to remote working and distance learning.
Statistics show the laptop segment is expected to witness the biggest sales drop amid the COVID-19 crisis, with revenues falling to $116.3bn by the end of 2020, a 14.3% decrease year-over-year.
The sales in the desktop PC segment is forecast to plunge by 13.4% YoY to $50.2bn. Global tablet sales is expected to generate $35.6bn in revenue in 2020, 10.7% less than a year ago.
Statista data also indicate it will take three years for the PC industry to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, revenues are projected to grow by 8.5% YoY to $219.5bn, $14bn below 2019 levels. By the end of 2023, global PC sales revenues are expected to rise to $235.2bn.
US PC Industry to Lose Almost $10B in Revenue
Statistics show the COVID-19 outbreak caused a huge financial hit to even the largest companies and markets in the PC industry. The revenues of the United States PC industry, as the largest globally, are forecast to drop by 17.2% YoY to $46.5bn in 2020.
The PC sales in the Chinese market, the second-largest globally, is expected to plunge by 5.9% YoY to $34.1bn. Japan ranked as the third-largest market in the PC industry with $14.6bn in revenue in 2020, a 13.5% decrease in a year.
Besides substantial revenue losses, the PC industry also witnessed a decrease in PC shipments this year. Statistics show that 187.8 million PCs were shipped worldwide in the nine months of 2020, a 1.6% drop YoY.