PC shipments see the steepest fall yet during 2013 according to IDC-- shipments are down by -9.8%, slightly better than projections of -10.1% but still suffering from competition from other devices and economic pressures.
One can see slight improvements in Q4 2013 shipments, but only due to short-term factors such XP replacements.
As a result IDC lowers 2014 growth projections by just over 2% to declines of -6%, and adjusts projections for the 2013-2018 period by 1%-- meaning long-term growth should remain below zero, with shipments below 300 million during the forecast period.
Depressing shipments further in a "dismal" 2013 are emerging markets (2013 volume down by -11.3%) due to slower economic growth, the culmination of some large projects, tablet/smartphone pressure and conservative expectations for factors such as touch and Windows XP migration.
"Emerging markets used to be a core driver of the PC market, as rising penetration among large populations boosted overall growth," IDC remarks. "At the moment, however, we're seeing emerging regions more affected by a weak economic environment as well as significant shifts in technology buying priorities. We do expect these regions to recover in the medium term and perform better than mature regions, but growth is expected to stabilise near 0%, rather than driving increasing volumes as we saw in the past."