The worldwide PC market is expected to increase just 0.9% in 2012 due to slow growth in mid-year shipments, according to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker.
According to the report, 367 million PCs will be shipped into the market in 2012, up by just a fraction of a percent from 2011 and marking the second consecutive year of growth below 2%.
The impact of emerging market growth was reduced due to slow growth in Asia/Pacific, while regions like the US have seen volume decline.
The report said that consumers have been hit by weak economic conditions and are waiting to see what Windows 8 and Ultrabook products will look like while considering spending on other products like media tablets and smartphones.
Product updates later in 2012 should revive PC growth, but it will be a more pronounced competitive environment and there is likely to be some confusion among buyers about new product features as well as where they will get the most for their money.
By the end of 2012, the uncertainty about product updates should be largely addressed and may be accompanied by a modest improvement on the economic front.
IDC research director of personal computing David Daoud said that the US market will remain depressed until Windows 8 products hit the shelves in the fourth quarter of 2012.
"The industry is responding by reducing shipments of PCs and clearing Windows 7-based inventories to pave the way for a new generation of systems," Daoud said.
IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker senior research analyst Jay Chou said: "Factors such as Windows 8 coupled with Ultrabooks could present a positive turn of events next year, but it also faces some initial hurdles; chief of which is that buyers must acclimate themselves to an operating system that is a dramatic departure from existing PC paradigms."
IDC now expects worldwide PC shipment growth will average 7.1% from 2013-2016, down from the 8.4% compound annual growth rate previously forecast for 2012-2016.
