PC sales in Europe fell sharply in the second quarter of 2022. According to data from Canalys year-on-year decrease was 18%, the highest in years and the second negative quarter in a row. All indications are that 2022 will be a disastrous year for the tech market as opposed to a big recovery in 2021.

The decline in sales is strangely explained by problems on both sides of the balance sheet: supply and demand. The former was hurt by a significant supply chain disruption in China. Many cities were shut down for most of the quarter, affecting factories and ports along the Beijing-Shanghai corridor, which is essential for electronics manufacturing.

The second reason is well known to you because it comes from demand. The rise in energy prices due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is pushing up prices and causing historic inflation in the Eurozone with an annual average of over 8%. In turn, central banks are raising interest rates, making mortgages that have been very low in recent decades much more expensive. After the summer holidays are over, families will have to tighten their belts and, if not out of necessity, buying electronics will take a back seat.

All these factors explain the colossal 18% year-over-year decline in PC sales. Laptops were the hardest hit, with a 26% drop to 9.5 million units.

In contrast, desktop computers grew significantly, up 22% to 2.7 million units. This is explained by the excellent performance of business and office sales, as desktops continued to decline in the consumer and education markets.

Sales of personal computers from manufacturers

According to manufacturers, Lenovo continues to lead the European market and was the “best” performance of the quarter. Even so, it did not avoid a drop in sales by 8.2%. HP followed in second place with sales down 17.1%, while Dell fell 18%.

Another excellent value was apple bumpwith Mac sales down 42%. Acer wasn’t far behind, down 30.6%. Very negative data that corresponds to supply and demand issues. And in the midst of a negative economic situation with rampant inflation and rising rates meant to curb it but hurting the pockets of consumers and companies.

Earlier company or sales data from other segments, such as smartphones or tablets, are also quite negative. 2022 is not expected to be a good year for the technology market.