Global PC shipments are forecast to continue recording a decline in 2023. According to a new report, the PC industry will record the worst decline of all devices segments in 2023. Market research Gartner says that PC shipments are estimated to decline 6.8% in 2023. In comparison, the industry registered a 16% decline in 2022.
The PC segment includes desk-based, notebooks, ultramobile premium and Chromebooks, says Gartner.

Inflated inventory a problem?
Gartner says that in 2023, PC vendors will reduce inventory levels. However, analysts expect PC inventory levels will return to normal by the second half of 2023 after significantly increasing in 2022.
“Inventory levels increased due to vendors overestimating market demand and because of the collapse in consumer confidence and dramatic fall in demand,” said Ranjit Atwal, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner.
When it comes to adoption of the latest operating systems on PCs, the market research firm said that in 2022, many business PCs could upgrade to the Windows 10 operating system (OS). Gartner notes that by the end of 2023, more than 25% of business PCs will upgrade to Windows 11, however, this will not drive enough sales to reach the same volumes seen between 2020 and 2022.

In addition, high inflation rates and economic downturn are expected to decrease discretionary spending and budgets. Gartner estimates that consumers and businesses will extend their PC and tablet replacement cycles by over 9 months by the end of this year.
PC shipment decline in Q4 2022
In its previous report, Gartner said that worldwide PC shipments totaled 65.3 million units in the fourth quarter of 2022, registering a 28.5% decrease from the fourth quarter of 2021. These numbers marked the largest quarterly shipment decline since the market research firm began tracking the PC market in the mid-1990s.