IDC forecasts the PC market will decline for a second consecutive year in 2013, with global shipments to drop by -1.3% despite industry efforts to overcome current market inertia.
Overall 2012 sees global shipments decline by -3.7%, with volumes dropping even in emerging markets. According to the analyst 2012 ended on a particularly sour note, with Q4 2012 shipments shrinking by -8.3% due to an underwhelming Windows 8 launch, pressures from tablets and further economic woes hitting the market during H2 2012.
"The PC market is still looking for updated models to gain traction and demonstrate sufficient appeal to drive growth in a very competitive market," IDC comments. "Growth in emerging regions has slowed considerably, and we continue to see constrained PC demand as buyers favor other devices for their mobility and convenience features. We still don't see tablets as functional competitors to PCs-– but they are winning consumer dollars with mobility and consumer appeal nevertheless."
For the future, IDC predicts growth to reach single-digits in 2014 and 2015 (thanks to refresh cycle momentum from businesses replacing Windows XP machines) before shipments contract even further in later years