In 2013, industry experts say the PC industry will be hit even harder by slumping sales. Analysts from industry expert IDC just released a shipment forecast for PCs that was revised and casts the business in a light that is very dim.
The original prediction by the company expected PC shipments to fall by 1.3% in 2013, followed by percentage increases each year that were slight, but steady.
That has changed said IDC. Following the steep losses incurred during the year’s first quarter, IDC has predicted that shipments of PCs will drop by more than 7.8% during 2013, which is close to twice the amount they fell in 2012, when they dropped by 4%. The decline of 4% in 2012 turned the PC industry on its head; one can only image what close to 8% would do.
The declines are not expected to end any time soon. IDC has predicted that shipments will fall by 1.4% during 2014 before they begin to settle. By the year 2017, the company says global shipments of PCs will be at 333 million, which are more than what they forecasted for the current year, but less than the 349 million units that moved during 2012 and the 363 million in 2011.
Judging how the market will be over the next four years is a tough thing to do and that is evidenced by how much the original prediction of a 1.3% fall jumped six-fold to 7.8%.
The losses in the industry have been chalked up to one major factor – mobile devices. Many people have realized that everyday computing, like accessing Internet, connecting to a social network, sending an email or using different apps, does not require that much computing power and much less local storage.
These users have not completely given up on the PC industry, but they are using them less and less and have opted to maintain their older systems and purchase smartphones or tablets.
