Shoppers choose to purchase a Microsoft laptop from Best Buy in Tampa, Florida, November 2021.
Octavio Jones | Getty Images
PC shipments fell sharply in the first quarter of 2022, according to new industry estimates, suggesting the pandemic boom in PC sales is over.
Gartner said Monday that it estimates PC shipments fell 7.3% annually to 77.5 million units, mostly due to a sharp drop in Chromebook shipments. Chromebooks are inexpensive laptops popular in schools that run a Google operating system.
The decline in shipments in the first quarter is a stark contrast to the rapid revenue growth that the industry has seen in 2021.
PC sales saw the fastest growth in 20 years in the first quarter of 2021, as consumers and businesses bought new laptops and desktops for working and learning remotely. In 2021, PC sales rose about 15%, returning to 2012 levels after nearly a decade of slow or no growth.
Other reports released on Monday also showed a decline. IDC estimated a 5.1% decline to about 80.5 million units shipped. Canalys saw shipments fall 3% in the first three months of 2022, though it thinks overall PC sales are still up. According to Gartner, the PC market grew 3.3% annually excluding Chromebooks.
The industry has faced challenges in supplying parts needed for laptops and desktops due to a global chip shortage during the PC sales boom. PC vendors also stopped shipping new computers to Russia during the invasion of Ukraine.
Companies that make PCs or key parts like processors have hoped the pandemic would create a new higher revenue base for the industry, but some analysts have warned there are signs growth could slow drastically as so many people have already bought new computers.
According to Gartner, the top six PC companies by units shipped in the first quarter were Lenovo, HP, Dell, Apple, Asus and Acer.