The global PC and tablet markets are set to stubbornly climb in the face of continued supply constraints, despite a slow holiday season, according to IDC.
Total annual shipments of traditional PCs worldwide is set to grow 13.5 percent despite a 3.4 percent decline in the fourth quarter. For tablets, shipments will be up 4.3 percent for the year, but down 8.6 percent in the holiday quarter.
“Of the three market segments – commercial, consumer, and education – it is looking like commercial will be the only one to grow in 2022. Part of this is driven by supply, but also because it will take time for a consumer refresh cycle to happen following the wave of consumer buying that happened over the past two years,” explained IDC mobility and consumer device tracker program vice president Ryan Reith.
“The education segment hasn’t been able to get all the devices it needs, but on a broader scale there haven’t been many cancelled orders. When supply catches up with demand, we expect to see an uplift in the education sector as well.”
The analyst firm added that although the PC market will cool in 2022 after two years of double-digit growth, the CAGR to 2025 will still be positive at 3.3 percent, driven largely by notebooks.
Conversely, the tablets market is going to continue to decline as it is eaten into by demand for smartphones and notebooks.
Reith added, “With ongoing supply chain challenges we have seen OEMs prioritising commercial demand in recent months. More often than not the commercial dollars are larger and more guaranteed compared to the consumer and education segments. The recent slowdown in the consumer segment is expected to continue into 2022, but in the long run, we expect the consumer PC market will have a five-year growth rate similar to the commercial segment”
Jitesh UbraniI, DC mobility and consumer device trackers research manager, said that
“The market has pulled past peak pandemic PC demand,” said “While we have seen some slowing of consumer demand in certain segments and markets, demand for gaming remains an exception and overall consumer demand is well above pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, the onset of saturation in some education markets is another cause for lower expectations in the coming quarters.”