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The Australian PC market increased over the first quarter of 2020, with demand pivoting from desktops to notebooks during the three months.
The Australian PC market rose by 5.2 per cent to a total of 1 million units shipped during Q1, consisting of growth seen in both the commercial and consumer markets of 5.2 per cent and 4.9 per cent, respectively.
This is according to IDC’s Quarterly Personal Computing Devices Tracker 2020Q1 report, which claimed notebook demand surged towards the end of the quarter with a rise of 5.5 per cent year-on-year, making up 744,000 of the shipments.
Ryan Lowell, associate market analyst for PC devices at IDC Australia, said there is still more notebook growth to come over the short term.
“We expect increased demand for notebooks to continue well into the second quarter of the year, with lockdowns continuing, more people working from home and migration to online learning,” he said.
“Notebooks will continue to take share from desktops, especially in the commercial segment, as more people are working from home. This may result in declining desktop shares in the future, as new refreshes will likely be on the same form factor.
“Furthermore, businesses may realise that notebooks can be as powerful as desktops, with the added benefit of portability, which may be preferable in a post pandemic era, where more companies adopt a more flexible remote work culture.”
Meanwhile, PC shipments started the quarter off strong due to Windows 10 migrations but eased off towards the end because of diminishing supply and demand due to lockdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
However, IDC analysis expect a decline in the PC market for the whole of 2020, even with the strong Q1 results and an anticipated year-over-year growth of 2.9 per cent in Q1.
“The boost in purchases during the first half of the year will likely result in a softer second half, as demand is being brought forward,” Lowell said.
“Challenging times lay ahead with a series of potential economic repercussions. Stimulus winding down, delayed corporate expenditure, and unemployment will negatively impact the market.”
