IDC: shipped 84 million PC units worldwide in the first quarter, the market outlook is more optimistic in the next few years.

A few days ago, IDC released a report on global PC shipments in the first quarter of 2021. According to the report, global PC shipments reached 84 million units in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 55.2% year-on-year and a slight decrease of 8% compared with the fourth quarter of last year, including desktops, notebooks and workstations.

IDC pointed out that while demand for PC remains high, in fact such a high year-on-year growth rate was caused by a severe decline in the market during the global outbreak in the first quarter of 2020. Moreover, while the month-on-month decline is typical of the first quarter, there has not been such a small decline in the PC market since it fell 7.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2012.

Lenovo continues to hold the top spot in the ranking of global PC shipments in the first quarter of 2021. It was followed by Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Apple and Acer. The PC shipments of the above five companies in the quarter were 20.401 million, 19.237 million, 12.946 million, 6.692 million and 5.837 million respectively, with a market share of 24.3%, 22.9%, 15.4%, 8% and 7%, respectively. Other companies shipped a total of 18.868 million units in the quarter, with a market share of 22.5%.

Jitesh Ubrani, manager of mobile device tracking research at IDC, believes that the unmet market demand in 2020 has continued into the first quarter of 2021, and the additional demand brought about by the COVID-19 epidemic continues to drive sales growth. However, the market is still suffering setbacks, including parts shortages and logistics problems, which directly lead to higher average sales prices.

Ryan Reith, vice president of IDC's global mobile device tracking program, said that in 2021, there is a very high backlog of demand in the areas of consumption, business and education. Persistent shortages in the semiconductor sector will only further extend the time for suppliers to replenish inventory and complete customer orders.

"We believe that the outlook for the PC market in the next few years is more optimistic." Ryan Reith said that many countries and regions have begun the process of "opening up", with unexpected demand in the areas of business, education and consumption. Parts shortage may be one of the key topics in 2021, but it is more important to consider where PC demand will go in two or three years' time.