IDC: PC shipments grow in EMEA (Q2) after seven quarters of decline

IDC’s latest report puts PC shipments in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) at 21.9 million units in the Q2, 2014, which marks a 10.5% increase year on year. This growth comes after seven quarters of decline. So, may be the worst is over for PC business at least in EMEA region.

IDC terms end of Windows XP support resulting in large renewals and macroeconomic outlook improvement in most Western European countries as the key driving factors of this growth.

PC shipments in Western Europe have continued to benefit this quarter from ongoing renewals in the SMB space following the end of Windows XP support. Commercial demand remained strong as business confidence stemming from an improving macroeconomic outlook contributed to corporate renewals. Commercial PC shipment growth in Western Europe reached 26.9% — clear confirmation that PCs remain key productivity tools in the enterprise environment. At the same time, the rebound in consumer shipments accelerated and some markets, including southern Europe, returned to levels of business close to their capacity. Shipments in Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands took off, with sell-in up by more than 40%.

“The lack of investments in PC renewals during the past two years contributed to an aging installed base across the commercial market and, together with the end of Windows XP support, this generated large renewal needs,” said Maciej Gornicki, senior research analyst, IDC EMEA Personal Computing. “As the macroeconomic outlook improved in most Western European countries, large enterprises regained confidence and started to replace their PCs, while many companies in the SMB segment reacted late to the change in the operating system. This has mainly boosted demand for desktops in the past two quarters, while the wave of portable renewals remains ahead of us.”