PC Demand Remains Strong in Q2/21 Despite Potential Cooling Market Conditions

JUL 13, 2021 - 6:51 am

The surge in PC demand from earlier this year continued through Q2/21 despite global component shortages and logistics issues, according to preliminary results from International Data Corporation’s Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker.

Worldwide shipments of traditional PCs, including desktops, notebooks and workstations, reached 83.6 million units in Q2/21, up 13.2% from Q2/20. Desktop growth outpaced notebook growth in the quarter, as elevated demand for PCs combined with shortages that greatly impacted the supply of notebooks.

“The PC market’s hot streak continued to drive heavy investments from the supply side, including the entry of new vendors as well as additional spend from underdogs,” Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC’s mobile and consumer device trackers, said. “And while the top five continue to drive volume, the smaller vendors have helped drive growth by offering unique features or niche designs.”

Although annual growth remains quite high, it has begun to taper off, as the 13% growth rate in Q2/21 is far lower than the 55.9% growth rate from Q1/21 and the 25.8% growth rate in Q4/20.

“The market faces mixed signals as far as demand is concerned,” Neha Mahajan, senior research analyst with IDC’s devices and displays group, said. “With businesses opening back up, demand potential in the commercial segment appears promising. However, there are also early indicators of consumer demand slowing down as people shift spending priorities after nearly a year of aggressive PC buying.”

Top Five Companies, Worldwide Traditional PC Shipments, Market Share and Year-Over-Year Growth, Q2/21 (Preliminary results, shipments are in thousands of units)
Company	Q2/21 Shipments	Q2/21 Market Share	Q2/20 Shipments	Q2/20 Market Share	Q2/21/Q2/20 Growth
1. Lenovo	20,005	23.9%	17,407	23.6%	14.9%
2. HP	18,594	22.2%	18,104	24.5%	2.7%
3. Dell Technologies	13,976	16.7%	12,010	16.3%	16.4%
4T. Apple*	6,156	7.4%	5,630	7.6%	9.4%
4T. Acer Group*	6,088	7.3%	5,177	7%	17.6%
Others	18,795	22.5%	15,551	21%	20.9%
Total	83,614	100%	73,879	100%	13.2%
Source: IDC Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, July 12, 2021

* IDC declares a statistical tie in the worldwide traditional PC market when there is a difference of one tenth of one percent (0.1%) or less in the shipment shares among two or more vendors.

Some IDC estimates for this report were made prior to financial earnings reports. Data for all companies are reported for calendar periods. Shipments include shipments to distribution channels or end users. OEM sales are counted under the company/brand under which they are sold.

For this report, traditional PCs include desktops, notebooks and workstations and do not include tablets or x86 servers.