As global PC shipments reached just 73.4 million units in the first quarter of 2014, a decline of -4.4% year on year, says IDC, Europe is looking more stable.
The global market, though still in decline and with continuing weakness in consumer and emerging market segments, saw preliminary results are slightly better than a projected decline of -5.3%.
The PC market in EMEA returned to more stable levels and performed above expectations, with shipments supported by healthy demand in the commercial space, IDC says, where end of Windows XP support and improving macro-economic outlook led to stronger than anticipated sell-in across a number of countries. "The consumer market started to stabilise, showing signs of improvement; however shipments remained within negative trends."
Performance in some mature European markets appears to have been more positive than expected, with growth enhanced particularly by corporate renewals, while the business environment in the emerging economies proved difficult, with shipments affected by currency fluctuations and high inventory in certain countries.
Similar to the latter part of 2013, the global upside in the first quarter arose primarily from demand in mature commercial markets.
"Worldwide PC shipments have now declined for eight consecutive quarters as a result of shifting technology usage and competition (notably with tablets & smartphones) as well as economic pressures (including high unemployment, slow growth & investment, tight credit, and currency fluctuations) related to the Great Recession, sovereign debt crises, and their related impact on international trade," said Loren Loverde, Vice President, Worldwide PC Trackers.
"The economic front seems to be gradually stabilising and/or improving. However, this has been a slow process, and it is unlikely that sovereign debt issues will be resolved soon or that growth in emerging markets like China will return to prior levels. On the technology front, the transition to more mobile devices and usage modes is unlikely to stop, although the short term impact on PC shipments may slow as tablet penetration rises - as we've begun to see in some mature regions. The net result remains consistent with our past forecasts - in particular, that there is potential for PC shipments to stabilise, but not much opportunity for growth."
"PC shipment growth in the United States remained slightly faster than most other regions in the first quarter. However, the passing boost from XP replacements, constrained consumer demand, and no clear driver of a market rebound are expected to keep growth below zero going forward," said Rajani Singh, Senior Research Analyst, Personal Computing.
"A rebound in consumer or a continuation of accelerated commercial upgrades could boost growth slightly, but low demand for upgrades in general combined with competition from tablets and 2-in-1 systems limit the growth potential."