PC sales on path to strong growth this year, Gartner predicts
PC sales will grow 13.3% during the first quarter over Q1 2003 to 44 million units, predicts Gartner Inc. Driving some of those sales will be the expanding mobile capabilities, Gartner says. "Falling entry prices, better price-performance capability and rising awareness among home users concerning the benefits and availability of wireless technologies are major drivers in the home mobile market," says George Shiffler, principal analyst for Gartner`s computing platforms and economics research. "The explosion of digital content devices and creation tools will also help drive PC sales in the home market."
For the full year, Gartner predicts that PC shipments will top 187 million units, a 13.9% increase from 2003. Gartner also predicts that PC vendors can anticipate stronger growth in the business segment in 2004, especially in the United States.
"As the economy improves, many U.S. businesses will need to replace PCs that were bought back in 2000," says Kiyomi Yamada, industry analyst for Gartner`s computing platforms worldwide group. "However, we do not expect stronger sales into the business segment until the recovery consolidates later in the year. Many enterprises are encouraged by signs of an economic recovery, but they are not rushing out to buy new systems. They will likely take a slow approach when replacing these older PCs, especially if employment growth continues to lag."
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