Global PC market records positive growth for the first time since 2011

The global personal computer market just grew consistently for the first time since 2011. Market researchers IDC and Gartner both reported growth in PC sales in the last quarter of 2019. While both firms broadly agreed on the direction the market is currently headed, their growth figures slightly differed.

According to IDC, global PC shipments grew by 2.7 percent (266.7 million devices) in 2019, ending eight successive years since the market recorded a 1.7 percent growth in 2011. Meanwhile, Gartner reported a 2.3 percent growth in Q4 2019 (70.6 million units) and 261 million units for the entire year.

Both market researchers cited the Windows 10 upgrade as the reason for the turnaround. Microsoft recently ended Windows 7 support. And, while consumers may still be available to upgrade to Windows 10 free of cost, enterprises around the world are being forced into upgrading to Windows 10.

Ryan Reith, Program VP with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, said in a statement, “This past year was a wild one in the PC world, which resulted in impressive market growth that ultimately ended seven consecutive years of market contraction. The market will still have its challenges ahead, but this year was a clear sign that PC demand is still there despite the continued insurgence of emerging form factors and the demand for mobile computing.”

Gartner noted that growth figures could have been much higher, citing Intel’s CPU shortage as a major problem while rival IDC reported that adoption of AMD CPUs helped the situation. IDC also noted that the top three PC vendors – Dell, HP, and Lenovo – consolidated their 65 percent share in the PC market with excellent gains. However, Acer and Apple saw a decline in shipments between 2018 and 2019.