PC shipments in Western Europe totaled 16.3 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011, a 16% decline from the equivalent period in 2010, according to Gartner, Inc. For the year, PC shipments numbered 58.5 million units in Western Europe in 2011, also a 16 percent decrease from 2010.
The PC market in Western Europe has suffered four consecutive quarters of shipment decline. “Despite aggressive pricing and special holiday deals for PCs, consumers’ attention was caught by other devices, such as smartphones, media tablets and e-readers,” said Meike Escherich, principal analyst at Gartner, in the press release. “Even though we saw a drop in prices, consumer PC shipments could not match the levels of previous years.”
In the fourth quarter of 2011, the PC markets of Italy, Greece, Portugal and Spain were particularly hard hit, with year-on-year PC demand declining 30% and more. The mobile PC market in Western Europe declined 17.5 percent during the quarter, while the region’s desktop PC market decreased 12.1 percent.
“Uptake of professional PCs for migrations to Windows 7 remained subdued due to the troubled economic outlook,” said Ms. Escherich. “PC shipments in the professional segment declined 13.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, but the consumer segment suffered a bigger decline, falling 18 percent.”
UK Windows PC Market Exhibited Worst Decline in Five Quarters
In the fourth quarter of 2011, shipments in the U.K. PC market totaled 2.9 million units, a decline of 19.6 percent compared with the equivalent period in 2010. This was the UK’s fifth consecutive quarterly shipment decline, and also its worst decline in five quarters. In 2011, as a whole, the U.K. market declined 15.9 percent, shrinking by nearly 2 million units from 2010.
“The UK market has been a prime illustration of the underlying weakness in PC demand across Western Europe,” said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner, in the press release.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, the U.K. PC market was impacted by the economic upheaval and the growing popularity of smartphones, media tablets and e-readers. As a result, the consumer market continued to shrink, with a decline of more than 20 per cent year-on-year. The professional market was also weak as austerity measures hit the education segment. Mini-notebook shipments declined more than 50 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, indicating the final stage in a shift away from these devices by PC vendors (in the third quarter of 2009 these devices represented over 30 percent of the U.K.’s total mobile PC market).
Four of the top five vendors performed poorly. Only Apple achieved growth, which consolidated its hold on the No. 4 position. “PC vendors face a long, uphill struggle to regain the interest of consumers. The introduction of Ultrabooks in late 2011 is desperately needed,” said Mr. Atwal.
United Kingdom: PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q11 (Thousands of Units)
France: WIndows PC Market Suffered Sixth Consecutive Quarterly Drop
PC shipments in France totaled 2.8 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011, a decline of 11.8 percent compared with the equivalent period in 2010. In 2011 as a whole, PC shipments numbered 10.4 million units, a 12 percent decline from 2010.
“The PC market in France remained weak, with lower sell-in to the channel and a difficult economic environment that squeezed consumer spending,” said Isabelle Durand, principal analyst at Gartner, in the press release. As a result, the PC market in France recorded its sixth consecutive quarterly decline in shipments.
The consumer market declined 11.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 as demand for mini-notebooks was lower than in the same period in 2010. “The last quarter of the year is traditionally driven by growth in the consumer segment, but Christmas PC sales in France were disappointing as consumers spent their money on other devices, such as media tablets and smartphones,” said Ms. Durand. The professional market declined 13 percent in the fourth quarter 2011, despite a number of deals being signed in the public sector.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, the mobile PC market accounted for 68 percent of total PC shipments in France, while shipments declined 9.5 percent. Desk-based PC shipments declined 16.5 percent. Shipments of mini-notebooks decreased 36.6 percent.
Of the top five vendors, only Asus and Apple grew in the fourth quarter 2011. Asus achieved the strongest growth and claimed the No. 2 position. HP regained the No. 1 position, while Acer’s market share collapsed as demand for mini-notebooks diminished, causing it to fall to the third position.
France: PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q11 (Thousands of Units)
Source: Gartner, Inc.
MacDailyNews Take: Now, if only Gartner would grow a pair and back out the Apple Mac numbers that are propping up the “PC Market” as a whole and give everyone a clearer picture of the decline of Windows and the rise of the Mac.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
Given the state of the PIGS economies I’m not surprised PC sales have slumped. It would be nice to see the sales broken down into Windows sales and Mac sales.
“consumers’ attention was caught by other devices, such as smartphones, media tablets and e-readers”
Sure, but only the iPad sales are actually replacing a PC.
Yet they shouldn’t as an iPad can NOT replace a PC any more than it can an iMac. an iPad is a mobile device without a keyboard and touch screen added. Mostly facebook and twitter twits use them for that. Families who can’t do anything and drool all over the carpet when they realize they can take a picture of their dog or kid. They are fickle and in 5 years it will be something else…
Yet they shouldn’t as an iPad can NOT replace a PC any more than it can an iMac. an iPad is a mobile device without a keyboard and touch screen added. Mostly facebook and twitter twits use them for that. Families who can’t do anything and drool all over the carpet when they realize they can take a picture of their dog or kid.
Wow. They become trucks that soon..
Yeah, just a rounding error – whatever.
We’re coming after you Windows PC network managers next.
“We’re coming after you…” what a stupid attitude you have.
When sales drop 15% or more, you are really starting to look at a sea change in the marketplace, a tipping point. PC manufacturers are in trouble. Developing nation numbers may prop up the industry, but the trend that starts in the developed nations will eventually reach those developing nations.
I don’t think Macs will get much past 20-30% because of the perception that Windows machines are cheaper but even that much market share would be enough to cause Microsoft a world of hurt and I want to hurt them, very badly. I so want to wipe any potential smirk, smile, stupid self-serving observations or arrogant posture from Ballmer T. Clown. Of course he won’t be around much longer anyway as much as we want the Captain of the MS Titanic to go down with the ship.
I’m not really interested that much in Ballmer T. Clown, since I never met the guy and likely never will.
But I’ll love so much to wipe the smirk, smile, stupid self-serving observation or arrogant posture from all the Windows fanbois that surround me wherever I go.
@Predrag “Windows fanbois ”
There are almost no windows fanboys out there. Instead it’s apple fanboys. Why is that? Because in order to get a mac, and pay about a $1000 more for it, they need to be brainwashed into believing it’s THAT much better. It’s like those people who instead of spending $30,000 for a car, they spend $60,000 and then get all excited over it and need to be worked up in order to justify the extra spent. Apple knows this. And in order to help them, they give fake “technology speeches”, or “keynotes meetings”. Some is actually real of course, but the attitude is much exaggerated and faked.
apple fanboys are more likely to be fanboys due to the prestique factor and having been told everything is of such “high quality” and “it just works”. PC users on the other hand, for the most part, just don’t care. And that is the truth.
When you go around the net, you will find many videos where apple fan boys make sure to show the apple logo. They copy each other like “worker ants” in a bot field in an effort to defend the mother ship, “apple” and it’s all unconscious. But part of that is also the social status factor as well. You also see people wearing apple logo tee shirts and such. Or their home page has an apple logo in it. You almost never find anyone with a microsoft logo, or a bill gates tee shirt, or trying to make sure they show off their Dell.
The apple fanboys think it’s because PC owners have nothing to brag about. Instead that’s not true. Instead they don’t feel a need to brag, other than one exception. If they keep seeing apple fanboys bragging, they get tired of it and sometimes will try to explain why their PC is great. But the average Joe? No, they don’t normally act like conceited apple fans or like snobs.
That “arrogant posture” you think you see from windows fanboys is likely in your imagination since you seem to think ALL of them have this. Again, as I explained, most do not care, unless you are trying to sell them on your apple mac. And in that case, they may just let you know they think their PC is just fine. You may perceive that as arrogance. don’t know..
What I am saying isn’t about arrogance. It’s reality. Also understand that the arrogance pretty much started with apple fans decades ago. Why? Because apple’s marketing harvests snobs by making commercials with actors that act out the type of people they are targeting. Example, the attitude in a “get a mac” commercial is highly condescending towards PC and they treat him like he is a re-tard. They also make fun of him, and notice they picked someone fat to help that out. That’s so younger teens will copy this attitude of making fun, and repeat it in forums. And yes, I”m right. I’ve seen it happen for years. there is no such PC advertisement that makes fun of mac users. Or there are so few of them, they are nearly impossi8ble to find. So please get your facts straight about who’s truly arrogant here.
no! He’s doing a great job! 😉
@Peter, I can almost gaurantee you, you “want to hurt them”, because you’ve been duped by steve job’s speeches designed to brainwash their credulous marketing demographic. You either bought into job’s sob stories about microsoft which were lies, or someone told you some other BS. Or you were one of the unlucky ones that had a bad experience, but that doesn’t fit the norm out there. To tell you the truth I’d like to hurt Apple. I would, because they actually use brain washing tactics and Jobs speeches use elements of hypnosis to get to peoples feelings about “the future”, “the dreamers” and the “Think different” campaign which was fake and used to target people with dreams and aspirations. Once they hooked people on an emotional level, they used hypnosis to help get them to link those feelings to the apple logo. Microsoft SUCKS at advertising and wish they knew how to sell their stuff by doing more than telling the truth about what their products do. Apple doesn’t tell people what the products do. Instead,k they use the Nike sneaker approach, that hooks people. When Nike sales first surged, they had hired Michael Jordin to endorse them. Then every little fool out there thought if they had that sneaker, they’d be like Jordin. I can actually back up what I’m saying with proof.
As for people at Microsoft being arrogant, there are thousands of employees. The same goes for Apple. Jobs is far more arrogant than many. But if you buy his LIES, you will feel sorry for him. And if you feel sorry for him, you’d think everyone else is the bastard. But I must admit Ballmer is not very liked by me either. However, that has nothing to do with microsoft. As for Gates, he’s at least very reasonable and giving. He’s given away more than Jobs entire worth. Jobs didn’t even give out a small percentage of his. So I don’t see the need to have your twisted views. Unless you just happen to fall into that 15 to 29 year old demographic I described before. But even if you are older, Apple has suckered you all the way.
Yes, it will be a problem. Apple did a lot of damage to the world, but most of it’s fans think that because apple told they they were the “future”, “innovative”, and the act like the center of technology that it just should be believed. We are at a point now, where people are buying apple products simply because OTHER people are buying apple products. They will all chant, like robots, “But ‘It just works'”, even though lots of other things out there work just as well. I figure if more than 1/2 of everyone buys apple, the rest of people will feel like they should get it to avoid embarrassment. Believe me when I say, there is ABSOLUTELY NO LOGIC to it what so ever. It’s a prestige factor as well. For the fools thinking people know quality they are fools. What they mean is people hear others parroting the same thing and copy each other. You could take any windows product, or a samsung tablet, or a phone, put an apple logo on it, change the art a little, and the apple fans would drool over the windows product, or the samsung phone. I’m a 40 year computer expert. I doubt very much 99.9% of the population out there is smarter than me when it comes to how technology works and what’s worth it or good. They just THINK they know.
It’s important for Windows apologists to keep pushing the term “media tablets”. However they will have to come up a contorted new definition once Microsoft release a tablet. Whatever happens, it’s important for them that iPads are not counted as computers, while Microsoft tablets will obviously need to be counted as ‘proper’ computers.
A windows tablet, will still be A TABLET, because it will have a small screen and no keyboard. They should be counted as tablets, unless someone personally makes a change or adds a big screen, keyboard, powerful video card (can’t fit) etc…
The numbers are actually worse than listed for the PC manufactures.
If you exclude Apple from the mix, you get -22% for UK and -13.7 for France.
It’s interesting to see what excuses sweaty monkey-dance boy and his PC buddies use to explain for the sales declines this time. They’ve already beat that “Thailand flood” dead horse to dead.
It’s going to get worse much worse for them with the coming release of iPad 3, iPhone 5, and Mac upgrades.
Amen to that and Amen to Predrag seeing the smug smiles from Windows Fanboi’s everywhere starting to fade and being replaced by very nervous flop sweat. I believe it’s already begun…
So are PCs being tipped in large numbers into the bonfire by the UK rioters then?
god, I love this.
I’m less concerned with Apple’s desktop market share gains as long as Apple continues to reap the revenue and profits in the industry. Apple doesn’t need to be the top dog in market share to be the most successful. If Apple is able to hold 20% in market share, that should be more than enough to control most of the computer industry. Taking most of the profits away is like sucking air out of rivals lungs. They can’t stay strong with that happening to them quarter after quarter. Apple is already winning the battle and the Windows PC vendors probably don’t even realize it and if they do, there’s nothing they can do about it. It’s the consumers that are cheering on Apple with their wallets.
Yes, but the point is Apple shouldn’t be winning “The battle” as there shouldn’t have been a battle to begin win. That was artifically started by Apple lying and exaggerating that their desktops didn’t get the “sneeze”, etc, etc. So they basically are fooling the less knowledgeable on the planet. People keep warning them that if the market share continues to increase there would be apple malware. THEY DID NOT LISTEN. They are mostly snobbish, slow to learn, kids from 15 to about 25 and think that if apple told them it wouldn’t get malware, then it wouldn’t.
The problem is now I’ve seen several apple infections, including Mac Defender, and Mac Flashback. Apple isn’t better. It’s just security through obscurity. What will happen is they will increase apple’s sales and money, then brag and say, “Hey look what apple accomplished”. And in a few short years, apple will also have plenty of malware. Actually it’s already too late.
It’s at a point now that Apple has advised it’s customers to run antivirus. something they made fun of PC users for having to do. Fact is, on a mac, you CAN NOT simply run unprotected. You should have AV and backups period! counting who has more malware makes no difference because if you go to connect a mac to the internet and it can get hit like it did with mac flashback, then it’s not safe. The idea used to be “peace of mind” with a mac. Well there is no more peace of mind. If you don’t run protection you are at risk.
That said, there really is no more reason to buy a mac anymore. I know all the fanboys will say, but all the software is better, but mac fanboys are notoriously delusional and liars. They originally claimed it was mostly about malware and video editing etc. Well now there’s mostly the same titles in software to run on PC and better ones. Ones that are so good, many mac users try to run windows in order to run them. Again, 99% no good reason to buy a mac, especially when they are slower out of the box, with a more outdated cpu and components, and cost so much more. The only reason left is some mac users, are so brain washed and “in love” with steve jobs, they CAN NOT let go. Not that it makes sense, but it is a reality.
And with that, my prediction of more than a decade ago, is coming true. I predicted we’d go through this painful change towards mac, only to end up where we started. The only one benefiting and laughing all the way to the bank is apple. Thanks Steve (well actually eff you)
… also as these apple fans pat them selfs on the back for having “won”. They don’t understand they haven’t won anything. They’ve lost. And again were warned by older, smarter people. The typical demographic was mostly 12 to 18, and started with the ipod age in 2001. Meaning they are now turning 23 to 29. And if you look around at the macbook air crowd, they really are mostly in that range. Meaning apple targeted the most credulous demographic they could. The most gullible ones, and exploited children in schools as well. Now I know they’d be offended to hear this, but they shouldn’t be. We were all 21 at one point. The point is apple took advantage of them with lies. Very sad really. No, no victory is won here. And in some cases windows handles malware better than macs. Apple was three months late with the patch that microsoft had already delivered to thwart off mac flashback. Hey kids, are you listening? Maybe not all is lost. Instead of smart mouthing those who try to help you, try listening and think, “Hey, maybe that nice friendly apple were really just after my cash and weren’t totally honest. And maybe because they were in a desperate position wanting to pull ahead, they did that.”. Because that’s exactly how it is and you guys let them get away with it!
Haha, the advertisement on this page is “Top Free internet security for Mac”. sorry to add a 3rd comment in a row, but that’s funny and I didn’t see it before. Again, as I said, the main reason to buy mac was supposedly no malware and apples deceptive “get a mac” commercials hinted at a bunch of lies. My prediction for the future is that malware will increase on the mac to a point it’s a big nuisance. And as it does, we have to consider the typical apple type personalities. I predict their reaction will be to defend their macs and go into a state of denial, no matter how bad it gets. And when that malware gets pretty rough, they will spout off new reasons to own a mac over a pc, and they will over exaggerate. One other reason, is many also believe if apple charges more, they are getting a better computer. But 99% don’t know it’s all the same hardware, only apple ships out cheap to mid-grade hardware. You can get a better, faster pc for $700, that is faster than a $2000 imac. And yes, apple’s are using PC’s for hardware. That is true. Ok, I could go on and on, but…. I figure the herd will run towards apple, and have no logical reason for it.
ok, are comments even working ???
Yeah, I wrote a lot of comments that probably no one will even read. And if they do, they will think I’m some psychotic idiot or something. But you know. Whatever. I just got sick of seeing SO MANY people that are misinformed. I may be laughed at for the amount of comments I make, BUT good luck finding tons of things wrong with what I said. I know I’m right.