Gartner: Microsoft Not to Blame for PC Shipments Decline

Written by CJ Arlotta
July 15, 2013

Worldwide PC shipments dropped in the second quarter of 2013 by 10.9 percent year over year, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of shipment decline. But the looming Windows XP end-of-support deadline drove some upgrades in the U.S. commercial market.

Worldwide PC shipments dropped to 76 million units in the second quarter of 2013, a 10.9 percent decrease from the same period last year, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of shipment decline, according to a recent Gartner, Inc. (IT) report. Plenty of pundits have blamed Microsoft’s Windows 8 and the lukewarm reception the new PC operating system has received. But is Microsoft (MSFT) to blame for the shipment drop this time?

According to Gartner Principal Analyst Mikako Kitagawa in her prepared statement, no.

“While Windows 8 has been blamed by some as the reason for the PC market’s decline, we believe this is unfounded as it does not explain the sustained decline in PC shipments, nor does it explain Apple’s market performance,” she said.

Back in April 2013, research firm IDC blamed a sharp decline of PC shipments in the first quarter of 2013 on a consumer and business rejection of Microsoft Windows 8.

The real reason for the decline? Gartner Kitagawa said PC market reduction is tied into the shrinking installed base of PCs.

“In emerging markets, inexpensive tablets have become the first computing device for many people, who at best are deferring the purchase of a PC,” Kitagawa said. “This is also accounting for the collapse of the mini notebook market.”

With regards to the U.S. market shipments, HP (HPQ), Dell (DELL), and Lenovo all performed better than the U.S. average growth rate, the report said. And U.S. PC shipments declined just 1.4 percent in Q2 2013 year over year, a less dramatic decline than the past seven quarters. Plus the market grew by 8.5 percent sequentially. Kitagawa attributed this momentary bright spot to upgrades stemming from the upcoming end to Windows XP support.

That looming deadline may have driven the remaining PC refresh in the U.S. professional market.

According to a Gartner report in June 2013, worldwide PC, tablet and mobile phone shipments are expected to grow 5.9 percent in 2013, and Google (GOOG) Android is forecast to dominate the operating systems (OS) market in 2014.