Worldwide PC shipments totalled 71.7 million units in the first quarter of 2015, a 5.2 per cent decline from the first quarter of 2014, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc.

"The PC industry received a boost in 2014 as many companies replaced their PCs due to the end of Windows XP support, but that replacement cycle faded in the first quarter of 2015," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "However, this decline is not necessarily a sign of sluggish overall PC sales long term. Mobile PCs, including notebooks, hybrid and Windows tablets, grew compared with a year ago. The first quarter results support our projection of a moderate decline of PC shipments in 2015, which will lead to a slow, consistent growth stage for the next five years.

"Desk-based PC shipments declined rapidly, with business desk-based PCs being impacted the most. Mobile PCs are being driven by a separate underlying replacement cycle, which led to growth in the first quarter. PC replacements will be driven by thin and light notebooks with tablet functionality. Our early study suggests strong growth of hybrid notebooks, especially in mature markets, in the first quarter of 2015," said Ms Kitagawa.

Lenovo and HP were the only two vendors among the top five worldwide that experienced an increase in PC shipments in the first quarter of 2015 (see Table 1). Lenovo experienced its strongest growth in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and the US. It has become one of the top providers of hybrid notebooks, especially its Yoga line in mature markets. HP performed moderately well in the first quarter, and it kept its top position in the US and EMEA. HP increased share in the US, but in EMEA the share delta from Lenovo, the second-largest vendor in the region, narrowed compared with last quarter.

Table 1 Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 1Q15 (Thousands of Units)

_{Notes: Data includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and premium ultra-mobiles. It excludes Chromebooks, Windows-based tablets with smaller than a 10-inch display, and other non-Windows-based tablets. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change.}                                                                           

_{Source: Gartner (April 2015)}

For the first time in six quarters, Dell experienced a worldwide PC shipment decline compared with a year ago. Dell was one of the vendors that benefited from replacement purchases due to the end of Windows XP support in 2014, but sales slowed as the replacement cycle faded.

In the US, PC shipments totalled 13.9 million units in the first quarter of 2015, a 1.3 per cent decline from the first quarter of 2014 (see Table 2). This was the first shipment decline in the US after four consecutive quarters of shipment growth in 2014.

"The first quarter results are not a sign doom for the US market," said Ms Kitagawa. "The biggest reason for the decline of PC shipments in the US was attributed to the desktop market, which experienced a double-digit decline. This was primarily due to the end of the Windows XP replacement cycle. In contrast, mobile PC shipments in the US continued to show year-over-year growth, and early results show this segment could have grown approximately 10 per cent in the first quarter of 2015."

HP extended its lead in the US market, as it accounted for 26.1 per cent of shipments. Lenovo and ASUS showed the strongest growth among the top five vendors in the US, with shipment increases of 13.5 and 10.8 per cent, respectively, in the first quarter of 2015.

Table 2 Preliminary US PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 1Q15 (Thousands of Units)

_{Notes: Data includes desk-based PCs, notebook PCs and premium ultramobiles. It excludes Chromebooks, Windows-based tablets with smaller than a 10-inch display, and other non-Windows-based tablets. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. Final estimates will be subject to change.}                                                          

_{Source: Gartner (April 2015)}

Asia/Pacific PC shipments surpassed 24.3 million units in the first quarter of 2015, a 1.2 per cent decline from the same period last year. The China PC market continues to drag down the overall regional average. In China, both consumer and commercial segments continue to be cautious with PC purchases. Desk-based PC shipments in Asia/Pacific declined 5.2 per cent in the first quarter, but mobile PCs grew 3.7 per cent.

EMEA Results

PC shipments in EMEA totalled 21.7 million units in the first quarter of 2015, a decline of 4.4 per cent from the same period last year (see Table 3). This was the first quarter of decline after four consecutive quarters of growth in 2014.

"A bright spot of the market was the strong performance of hybrid notebooks, which led to growth in consumer mobile PCs," said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. "There were, however, some concerns about inventory build-up as vendors shipped high volumes of Bing notebooks into the channel in the fourth quarter of 2014. This eased as the quarter ended." Desk-based PC shipments declined rapidly as the impact of the Windows XP upgrade cycle continued to diminish. 

As a result, PC shipment growth stumbled, and the fall was steeper than what the market would usually experience between the fourth and first quarters. "There was, however, a lot of variation between countries in EMEA," said Isabelle Durand, principal research analyst at Gartner. "In the first quarter of 2015, Germany was weak compared to last year's when growth was boosted by commercial desktop sales due to Windows XP migrations."  Southern European countries such as Spain, Italy and France, showed solid Bing notebook growth.

Average selling prices for PCs across the distribution in euro-zone countries increased marginally in the first quarter of 2015 from the previous quarter. This increase resulted from  the rise of prices by vendors to offset the impact of the euro/dollar exchange rate pressures. "We can expect a bigger currency impact in the second quarter of 2015 with professional PC prices expected to increase more than in the consumer PC market. In the consumer market, manufacturers will lower the specifications of PCs to keep their prices competitive," said Mr Atwal.

HP retained the No. 1 position in EMEA with strong notebook PC growth. Lenovo – the only vendor to show double-digit growth held the No. 2 position with strong performance in the consumer PC market, at the expense of Acer and ASUS. The decline in Dell’s PC shipments was attributed to the challenging professional desk-based PC market in the first quarter of 2015.

Table 3: Preliminary EMEA PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 1Q15 (Units)

_{Note: Data includes desk-based PCs and mobile PCs, including x86 tablets equipped with Windows 8, but excludes Chromebooks and other tablets. All data is estimated based on a preliminary study. The statistics are based on the shipments selling into channels.}                                                                                                                    

_{Source: Gartner (April 2015)}

These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner's PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PC market, allowing product planning, distribution, marketing and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future implications around the globe.