Beancounters at IDC claim that the reason that the PC market is not picking up is because there is far too much inventory out there.
IDC said that this high inventory, falling commodity prices and foreign exchange issues meant it was reducing its outlook for the PC market for 2016.
Expectations for early 2016 were already pretty grim, but a range of factors has prompted it to reduce its 2016 outlook “by a couple of percent”. Now, it predicts the global market will decline 5.4 percent annually.
IDC predicts that by 2018 the market will “effectively stabilise” but will not avoid some small declines in certain quarters before then.
The analyst pointed to the SMB and education sectors were star performers when it comes to PCs.
Jay Chou, IDC’s research manager said that in addition to specific devices, the SMB and education segments are expected to do better than the overall market.
“There have been indications of faster commercial adoption of Windows 10 than of past operating systems, and that should support some growth in the medium term. Similarly, IT access for students remains a priority, and will drive projects across regions – even though constrained government spending may limit some projects.”
