Global PC sales up 15.2 percent in Q4 2009

IDC released a preliminary report about the global PC market, the research company reports the U.S. PC market established a new record of nearly 20.7 million units shipped in Q4 2009, resulting in year-over-year growth of 24 percent. Global PC sales were up 15.2 percent in the quarter, and the total amount of PC sold last year was 2.3 percent more than the year before.

HP saw its shipments rise by 23.3 percent, the company remains the largest PC vendor with total shipments of 17.99 million units, representing a marketshare of 21 percent, compared to 19.6 percent in the same period a year earlier. Acer increased its marketshare from 12.0 percent to 13.4 percent, while Dell dropped from 13.6 percent to 12.4 percent.

While Dell was beaten by Acer in the global market, the company is still the second biggest PC vendor in the US with a marketshare of 22.4 percent. HP is first with 29.2 percent, and Acer holds a marketshare of 11.9 percent.

Led by a holiday season featuring price cuts of unprecedented duration, the U.S. PC market established a new record of nearly 20.7 million units shipped in the fourth quarter of 2009 (4Q09), resulting in year-on-year growth of 24%. Other regions also experienced solid growth, particularly emerging markets in Asia/Pacific and Latin America, leading the global market to 15.2% year-on-year growth for the quarter. According to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, this marked the first quarter of double-digit volume growth since 3Q08. The fourth quarter results cap a strong second half of 2009, further cementing signs of a market revival and ending the year with year-on-year growth of 2.3%.

In addition to the continuation of price declines throughout the year, other factors were in play for the fourth quarter. Following a stream of improving economic indicators which began in 3Q09, a release of pent-up demand was evident as buyers focused on a vast array of value-oriented notebooks that dominated the channel landscape in the holiday season.

"The U.S. market exploded in the fourth quarter, driven by a series of factors contributing to the unexpected 24% year-on-year growth. First is the rubber-band effect and recovery from the year-ago quarter, which suffered from buyer contraction when the economic crisis was confirmed. The vendors responded with new low price points to stimulate demand and face competition. In this context, low-cost notebooks and mininotebooks were the biggest contributors to the successful fourth quarter. Once again, the consumer market overcame the weak commercial sector to save the quarter," says David Daoud, research manager, U.S. Quarterly PC Tracker.

"The market has weathered a storm which looks to be behind us," says Jay Chou, research analyst, Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. "But salvaging decreasing margins will soon become even more pertinent as one considers the long-term effects of holding market share at the cost of profitability. Without an effective strategy to convey a clear usage model and feature set tied to each segment, the market will inevitably continue down the slippery slope of 'good-enough' computing sold to the lowest bidder."

More details can be read at IDC.