PC market grows as prices fall

PC shipments in Western Europe totalled 13.8 million units in the second quarter of 2008, an increase of 22.9% compared with the same period in 2007.

“The PC market in Western Europe is growing strongly despite the prevailing weakening economic climate. While the PC market is not immune from the economic forces, sharp declines in average selling prices have certainly fostered the growth. Steeper-than-expected price cuts could hit PC-makers' profit margins and prolonged price pressure will force further consolidation amongst vendors,” said Ranjit Atwal, principal analyst at Gartner, based in the UK.

The PC market in Western Europe has not showed this level of growth since 1999 with sales in all the major countries such as the UK, Germany and France increasing at more than 20% respectively. Sales in mobile PCs bolstered the growth with an increase of 45% in the second quarter of 2008 and contributed to an overall growth of 23% in the same period. PC shipments in the UK totalled 2.8 million units in the second quarter of 2008, an increase of 27.4% compared with the same period in 2007.

“The PC market in the UK performed strongly this quarter with both the consumer and professional markets fuelling growth. This strong performance can only be sustained if new users are being reached or existing users are buying additional PCs or replacing their old ones more rapidly,” said Ranjit Atwal.

The market was driven by strong mobile PC sales that accounted for 64% of the total PC shipments, with volumes increasing 60% in the second quarter of 2008. The desk-based PC market suffered again with an 8% decline year-on-year.