Computer sales will increase again next year, according to predictions from IDC. The growth will bring the numbers back close to the level achieved before the pandemic.
Next year, the PC market will see the number of devices shipped rise again. IDC analysts predict a 3.7 percent growth from 2023. That will bring the total number of devices shipped above the level sold for 2019.
Doubters postpone purchases
As such, the market has not yet fully recovered. Possible customers first need greater reassurance about their financial situation, according to IDC. For the time being, they will wait to replace devices until the devices stop working.
Companies are looking for ways to save money. This has already gone hand in hand with major layoffs within many tech companies, but the purchase of new company computers is also being pushed back as a result.
Devices must respond to new technologies
In addition, there are new technologies that are being proposed as an indispensable element in any business, such as AI. This further complicates the puzzle of allocating the available budget. Moreover, companies want to get ready for these technologies and prefer to wait until devices supporting AI are available.
While PC makers can do little to change the global economic situation, they can boost PC sales by responding quickly to new technologies. If companies indicate a willingness to spend budget on new enterprise laptops or PCs once the devices are AI-compatible, it is up to PC builders to respond to that wish.
Easy growth after 2023
While it sounds hugely positive that the PC market will grow again in 2024, it is important to get the bigger image surrounding this statement. The number of devices shipped in 2023 is predicted to reach 252 million. Compared to a year earlier, the numbers take a huge plunge of 13.7 percent. After the glory years, the market enjoyed during the pandemic, the PC market has mainly shown signs of shrinking since 2022.
Also read: Global PC sales fall sharply in Q1, Apple suffers biggest drop
According to IDC’s predictions, the market will slowly bounce back from 2024 onward but must first endure 2023. This year, the PC market is suffering tremendously, with the “largest annual decline in the number of consumer PCs sold since the beginning of the category,” according to Jitesh Ubrani, research manager at IDC.
AI represents new opportunities for the market to push the numbers up further, and starting in 2024, Microsoft will also let the numbers rise. That happens indirectly through the impending end of support for Windows 10, scheduled for October 2025.
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