Global computer shipments fell 13.4% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023, according to preliminary data from International Data Corporation (IDC). The decline marks the sixth consecutive quarter of contraction, driven by macroeconomic factors, lower demand in the consumer and commercial sectors, and IT spending moving away from device purchases. But IDC said the market beat forecasts for the quarter.

In the second quarter of 2023, the industry shipped 61.6 million PCs, up from 71.1 million in the same quarter last year. Lenovo shipped 14.2 million systems and remained the world’s largest PC vendor in the second quarter of 2023, but its sales fell 18.4%. As a result, HP approached the top leader, selling 13.4 million desktops and notebooks in the second quarter of 2023. Dell was third with 10.3 million PCs, while Apple remained the world’s fourth largest PC vendor with 5.3 million machines sold during the quarter. According to IDC, Acer has shipped nearly four million computers.

“The rapid supply and demand that the computer industry has faced over the past five years has been extremely challenging,” said Ryan Reith, vice president of IDC’s client device monitoring group. “Companies don’t want to be caught in deficits like they did in 2020 and 2021, but at the same time, many seem reluctant to bet big on market recovery. On the consumer side, we see a return to pre-pandemic habits where computing needs spanned multiple devices, and we believe the consumer wallet will favor smartphones over personal computers. ) and also just implementing generative AI will create even more confusion about where to put an already reduced budget.”

With the exception of Apple and HP, all major PC manufacturers reported double-digit declines this quarter. In the second quarter of 2022, Apple recorded positive year-over-year growth due to supply constraints resulting from COVID-related supply chain disruptions. Meanwhile, HP coped with excess inventory the previous year and is now approaching normalized inventory levels, leading to better growth amid the slowdown, according to IDC.

However, persistently low demand has impacted both channel-level completed systems and the supply chain, causing inventory levels to remain high for an extended period of time.

“Increased channel and component inventory is driving the market down again,” said Jitesh Ubrani, director of mobility and consumer devices research at IDC. “And while these issues are easing, many component suppliers continue to offer discounted prices to free up their stocks, although PC manufacturers and channels are still wary of new systems due to declining demand.”