- According to Canalys data, PC shipments in Western Europe fell 38% in the last quarter of 2022
- A decline due to economic conditions, but also to a saturated market
- This market could return to growth towards the end of the year
PC sales in Europe collapsed in 2022 and especially in the last quarter, according to a study published by Canalys. In the last 3 months of 2022, 10.7 million PCs were shipped in Western Europe, down 38% year-on-year. The segment most affected by this decline is notebooks, with a shipment volume 40% lower than shipments in the last quarter of 2021.
And over the whole of the previous year, Canalys indicates that PC shipments in Western Europe fell by 21%. Tablet shipments were down 18%. Moreover, for the moment, we do not yet see the light at the end of the tunnel. Indeed, the firm expects the declines to continue to chain for most of 2023. But sales could finally return to growth towards the end of the year.
“Despite steep discounts, consumer PC shipments in the region fell 27% between the third and fourth quarters of last year”comments Kieren Jessop, analyst at Canalys Research. “A substantial sequential decline for the holiday quarter underscores both the impact of the current economic situation on demand and the extent to which inventories have ballooned.”
Why are PCs selling so poorly?
In addition to economic conditions, Canalys explains that market saturation must also be taken into account. From the second quarter of 2020, sales have indeed been on the rise in the region, over several successive quarters. Otherwise, on the corporate side, the PC market would be affected by the rate hike by the ECB. And investments in new computer hardware would not be a priority.
But the good news is that Canalys believes that the PC market in Western Europe is “probably at rock bottom”. This suggests that the declines could therefore be less significant. “Europe-based distribution partners are reporting reductions in their inventory levels, paving the way for further sales shipments as demand recovers later in the year,” Jessop says.
Otherwise, it should be noted that all the manufacturers of the Top 5 experienced significant drops in their shipments, during the last quarter of 2022, even Apple. Shipments from Lenovo, HP, Dell, Apple and ASUS saw declines of 34.9%, 42.8%, 42.4%, 22.8% and 24.9% respectively in the last quarter, in the Western part from Europe.
