‘Clouds’ in the computer market: 13.1% decrease in individuals and 7.2% in businesses

By Fotis Fotinos

Global PC sales are expected to decline 9.5% in 2022, according to Gartner’s latest report.

“A perfect storm of geopolitical turmoil, high inflation, currency fluctuations and supply chain disruptions have reduced business and consumer demand for technology products worldwide and are set to further impact the PC market in 2022,” said Ranjit Atwal , senior analyst at Gartner.

“Demand for personal computers will decline by 13.1% in 2022, and will decline more than demand for business computers, which is expected to decline by 7.2% annually,” he added.

From a regional perspective, the PC market in the EMEA region is projected to decline by 14% in 2022.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, price increases and product unavailability due to lockdowns in China are significantly affecting consumer demand in the region, according to the report.

Overall, global sales of technology products (computers, tablets and mobile phones) are estimated to decline by 7.6% in 2022, with China and Eastern Europe, including Eurasia, recording double-digit declines.

Global Sales Forecast by Device Type, 2021-2022

Source: Gartner (June 2022)

The evolution of the smartphone market and 5G

The company also notes that while global mobile phone sales are expected to decline by 7.1% in 2022, smartphone sales are estimated to decline less, by 5.8% year-on-year.

China will be hit hardest, with smartphone shipments shrinking by 18.3% in 2022.

On the other hand, China has been leading the way in the adoption of 5G phones for the past two years.

However, the “collapse” of the smartphone market in the region will also mean a 2% decline in 5G phone sales in 2022, after a 65% increase in 2021.
“At the beginning of the year, China’s 5G phone market was expected to show double-digit growth,” said Atwal.

“The impact of China’s zero-tolerance policy on COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns have dramatically reversed this trend. Large numbers of consumers have stopped buying non-essential items, including 5G smartphones,” he added.

In 2022, Gartner expects 5G phone sales worldwide to total 710 million units.

Although this is a 29% increase from 2021, it is lower than initial expectations.

“The growth rate is down significantly from the expected 47% increase at the start of the year, resulting in a ‘loss’ of 95 million 5G phones,” said Atwal.

Finally, the demand for 5G phones is expected to grow at a faster rate in 2023.

“Much of the transition to 5G will happen by default, as users replace older 4G smartphones at the end of their life cycle with 5G-compatible smartphones,” he commented.