PC sales fall again in EMEA - this time down by 10 per cent in the first quarter

PC sales continue to fall across Europe as businesses hold off on Windows 10 and consumers buy TVs instead

PC sales across Europe continued declining in the first quarter, according to new figures fresh out from Gartner, with the analyst group reporting a 10 per cent year-on-year sales fall.

The company revealed last week that global PC sales were down 9.6 per cent in the first quarter, and added today that, while the popularity of 2-in-1 devices and gaming laptops continues to grow across the EMEA region, the market as a whole saw a 10 per cent slump in sales compared with the same period last year.

Asus was the only manufacturer to enjoy an increase in sales, recording 3.9 per cent growth, year on year, to give the company a healthy 10.9 per cent chunk of the EMEA market.

However, Asus failed to topple HP Inc and Lenovo which, despite both reporting a downturn in sales, took first and second place respectively. HP bagged the top spot with 22.4 per cent of the EMEA market, despite seeing a 2.5 per cent dip in sales, while Lenovo claimed 18.8 per cent despite a painful 12.6 per cent fall in sales.

Dell came in just below Asus in fourth place with a 9.6 per cent decline in PC sales and a 9.9 per cent share of the market.

Acer has suffered the most, though. Sales of the company's PCs and laptops took a dive of 26.5 per cent during the first quarter of 2016, despite having boastfully told Computing's sister site The INQUIRER this time last year that it would be the "last man standing in the PC market".

"While the decline in the EMEA PC market is similar to the 9.6 per cent decline seen worldwide, there are some differences in the region," said Isabelle Durand, principal analyst at Gartner.

"In EMEA we saw many distinct factors cause clear splits between the consumer and professional PC markets, but also regionally between Western Europe and the rest of EMEA. Some PC vendors struggled to manage inventory and profitability in these diverse and rapidly shifting conditions," she continued.

The PC market is unlikely to see a rapid turnaround as businesses are still getting their heads around Windows 10, according to Gartner.

"Professional shipments of desktops and notebooks declined as business buyers continued to evaluate Windows 10 and delayed major deployments until the end of 2016," it added.

Consumers, on the other hand, are keener to spend their money on televisions and other such entertainment gadgets, and PC vendors are failing to compete when it comes to new and innovative features.

Gartner said: "These various trends in major Western European markets reveal that vendors are failing to give consumers and businesses a compelling reason to upgrade their existing PC hardware."