Industry analyst firm IDC has downgraded its forecast for worldwide PC shipments in 2016 by two percent - now predicting a plunge of 7.3 percent for the year.
It follows after an abysmal first quarter of 2016 that saw PC sales shrink 12.5 percent. IDC originally forecasted sales for the period to shrink 11.3 percent.
The analyst firm said weak currencies, depressed commodity prices, political uncertainty and delayed projects all had an impact on PC shipments. It added that falling smartphone and tablet sales had failed to translate into more PC shipments.
The availability of free Windows 10 downloads and other alternatives for delaying replacements was putting pressure on PC shipments, according to IDC. Sales are yet to stabilise in commercial PC shipments due to enterprises that are still evaluating Windows 10.
IDC vice president, worldwide tracker forecasting Loren Loverde said the forecast update doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a significant change in factors that drive the market.
"In addition, we have now had four consecutive quarters of double-digit volume declines. This type of prolonged slump is unprecedented, and lowers the bar for some improvement going forward. Unfortunately, the PC market still faces some persistent challenges, and for now, improvement continues to mean slower declines," said Loverde.
In total, IDC expects 255.6 million PC shipments in 2016, down from 276.6 million in 2015. Portable PCs are slated to continue to outsell desktops, with 152.3 million shipments compared to 103.3 million for desktops. Portable PCs are classified by IDC as portable devices without detachable keyboards.
IDC placed Lenovo as the top selling vendor for worldwide PC shipments in 2015 with 57 million, followed by HP, Dell, Apple and Acer.
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