PC shipments in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) rose 20% in the second quarter of 2020, representing the strongest growth in this region in over 10 years, said leading research and advisory company Gartner in a new report.

The exceptionally strong market demand was driven by the requirement for remote work and online education due to Covid-19, as well as a boom in consumer demand and increased vendor supply to the region as channels depleted during the first quarter of the year were restocked.

The Asia/Pacific market declined 8.1% year over year in the second quarter. While the consumer PC market was strong, driven by both replacement and first-time purchases to address stay at home requirements, the business market was weak, reflecting demand challenges and budget constraints in certain verticals, such as government and education.

Worldwide PC shipments totalled 64.8 million units in the second quarter of 2020, a 2.8% increase from the second quarter of 2019, according to preliminary results by Gartner. After a significant decline in the first quarter of the year due to Covid-19-related supply chain disruptions, the PC market returned to growth as vendors restocked their channels and mobile PC demand increased.

“The second quarter of 2020 represented a short-term recovery for the worldwide PC market, led by exceptionally strong growth in EMEA,” said Mikako Kitagawa, research director at Gartner. “After the PC supply chain was severely disrupted in early 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, some of the growth this quarter was due to distributors and retail channels restocking their supplies back to near-normal levels.

“Additionally, mobile PC growth was particularly strong, driven by several factors including business continuity for remote working, online education and consumers’ entertainment needs. However, this uptick in mobile PC demand will not continue beyond 2020, as shipments were mainly boosted by short-term business needs due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

In the second quarter of 2020, Lenovo and HP shared the number one position in the worldwide PC market, owing to HP’s strong growth in the quarter. They accounted for half of PC shipments in the second quarter of 2020, up from 46.6% in the second quarter of 2019.

Lenovo maintained its No. 1 position in the worldwide PC market alongside HP, with 4.2% year over year growth in worldwide shipments. This was the result of strong double-digit growth in EMEA and over 50% growth in mobile PC shipments.

After a significant decline in the first quarter of 2020 due to supply chain constraints, HP recorded strong year over year growth in the second quarter as it recovered from those supply chain issues. HP showed particularly strong growth in EMEA and the U.S., brought on by healthy consumer demand for PCs.

Dell’s worldwide shipments declined slightly in the second quarter of 2020, representing its first year over year decline since the first quarter of 2016. Dell’s shipments grew in EMEA and Japan but declined in all other regions, with the steepest drop in Latin America (20%). In many regions, Dell’s mobile PCs showed double digit growth, which was offset by a significant decline in shipments of deskbased PCs.

The US PC market grew 3.5% year over year, registering its fifth consecutive quarter of growth. Double-digit mobile PC growth was offset by a 44% decline in deskbased PCs.

“Strong mobile PC demand in the U.S. was driven by shelter in place rules enforced as a response to the Covid-19 outbreak,” said Kitagawa. “While some states eased restrictions during the second quarter of 2020, many businesses continued to prepare for a potential resurgence of the virus, resulting in strong demand for mobile PCs as a precautionary measure.”

HP secured the top spot in the US PC market based on shipments, taking nearly 33% of the PC market share (see Table 2). Dell took the No. 2 position with 26.1% market share. – TradeArabia News Service