PC market in Western Europe experiences a new low

PC manufacturers have not been able to enjoy good sales figures recently. This is at least true for the PC market in Western Europe, as the market research institute Canalys has now announced. But apparently the restrained buying behavior is soon to come to an end.

Crises shake PC market in Western Europe

A look at the sales figures for PC hardware in 2022 should have been frightening for almost everyone involved in the PC market. A direct comparison with the previous year in particular reveals a significant drop. The market researchers at Canalys have found that the direct comparison between the fourth quarter of 2021 and 2022 reveals a shrinkage of 38 percent. This is a real collapse of the PC market. The notebook segment was apparently particularly hard hit. Here, manufacturers in the local PC market sold 40 percent fewer units than in the previous year. In comparison, a drop of 28 percent for desktop PCs almost seems like peanuts. But at the same time, industry experts are sounding the all-clear. Apparently, a turnaround in sales figures can already be seen.

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Canalys predicts that there should be positive news for the PC market again from the fourth quarter of 2023 at the latest – Just in time for the Christmas shopping season, that is. One does not have to go long on causal research to understand why sales in the Western European market slumped. The economic difficulties caused by the late effects of the Corona crisis on the one hand and the Ukraine war on the other caused sales figures to plummet. Finally, inflation and general economic uncertainty significantly changed consumer behavior. On top of that, according to Kieren Jessop, research analyst at Canalys, one should not forget the record numbers during the Corona crisis. The boredom during the lockdown also attracted people to buy PCs who might not have bought one in “normal” times. Accordingly, the PC market has experienced eight bona fide record quarters since 2019.

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Growth on the horizon again

So there’s no real comparison to be made given the particular Corona years. Jessop does find words of encouragement when he gives an outlook for the next few quarters. Since the retailers’ accumulated stocks should slowly empty over 2023, there is nothing to be said against replenishment from the manufacturers. The market research institute bases its positive outlook, among other things, on the number of jobs in Western Europe. From this, it can be concluded that people will again be willing to spend more money on their hobby in the future. The growth forecast for 2024 is even expected to be around 12 percent.