PC shipments grew 3-11% in Q2 2020 despite coronavirus

After years of bad news, PC shipments saw growth in 2019, only to have the coronavirus pandemic cut the celebration short in Q1 2020. Now for some good news: The PC market grew between 2.8% and 11.2% in Q2 2020, according to research firms Gartner and IDC. Gartner called the rebound “a short-term recovery,” while IDC classified it as “strong demand driven by work-from-home as well as e-learning needs.”

The PC market saw six years of quarterly PC shipment declines, followed by mixed quarters in 2018 and 2019. Last year was more good than bad: Q1 was negative, while Q2, Q3, and Q4 were positive. The Windows 10 refresh cycle drove 2019 gains in the business market — Microsoft ended support for Windows 7 on January 14. Similarly, 2020 was expected to see gains thanks to 5G and dual-screen devices. Instead, we saw reduced supply due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in China (the world’s largest supplier of PCs), leading to the sharpest decline in years. Now it looks like supply constraints have been addressed, while a rise in work from home and distance learning is driving more demand from businesses and consumers alike.