Following a two year decline in sales of personal computers, prospects seem to be better for the PC markers in the second quarter, helped by demand in developed markets of North America and Europe.
The recent years has seen dip in PC sales due to surging demand for tablets and smartphones and tough economic conditions.
However, the quarterly figures released by the two research firms – Gartner and IDC – indicate that the slump experienced world over is gradually easing.
Gartner’s quarterly release indicates that during the April to June period, PC shipments inched up by 0.1% to 75.8 million units. On the other hand, according to IDC calculations, PC shipments dropped by 1.7% to 74.4 million units.
Though IDC figures have yet to show are return to growth the PC industry has reasons to smile as the number is much better than the 7.1% drop the marketing intelligence firm had expected.
The developed markets had experienced better sales, partly due to consumer interest in low-cost PC models.
According to Gartner, the Chinese PC maker Lenovo shipped over 14.5 million units during the quarter, followed by Hewlett-Packard with over 13.4 million units. HP witnessed 21% shipment growth in EMEA, securing the top position in the region.
Emerging markets, however, continued to see declines, as result of weak economies and competition from lower-priced tablets.
According to IDC, with firms replacing their aging computers and consumers gradually favouring PCs, top three sellers – Lenovo, HP and Dell are at a better position, gaining by over 10%.
PC shipments in the US grew by 6.9% this quarter compared to the corresponding period of 2013, the IDC figures show.
IDC vice president Loren Loverde in a statement noted, "We can look for some recovery in emerging regions going forward, but it may coincide with slower growth in mature regions. We do not see the recent gains as a motive to raise the long-term outlook although 2014 growth could get closer to flat, rather than the May projection of -6%."
