PC Consumer Demand Amid Pandemic Drives Strongest U.S. Market Growth in 10 Years, Gartner Says

By Maria Armental

A surge in remote work, study and home entertainment during the coronavirus pandemic fueled personal computer sales in the third quarter, driving the strongest growth in a decade in the U.S., according to research firm Gartner Inc.

The U.S. market had 11.4% growth year over year in the quarter, the first time in 10 years that the region has seen double-digit growth, Gartner said. Mobile PC sales rose 29% from a year ago, while desktop PC sales saw a major decline, Gartner said.

Shipments rose 3.6% to 71.4 million units, Gartner Inc. said.

Chromebook shipments, which Gartner doesn't include in its traditional PC market results, surged by about 90% in the third quarter, driven by distance learning due to the pandemic, especially in the U.S. education market, the firm said.

Including Chromebooks, the worldwide PC market rose around 9% year over year, with Chromebooks representing about 11% of the combined PC/Chromebook market, according to Gartner.

"The market is no longer being measured in the number of PCs per household; rather, the dynamics have shifted to account for one PC per person," said Mikako Kitagawa, research director at Gartner.

Ms. Kitagawa said that while supply-chain disruptions tied to the pandemic have been largely resolved, shortages of key components like panels due to high demand remained in the third quarter.

Research firm Canalys last week said shipments in the quarter rose to 79.2 million units, which at nearly 13% marked the highest growth in a decade.

The data, Canalys said, showed the growth in notebook and mobile workstation shipments to support remote work and learning while desktop and desktop workstations dropped 26%.

Lenovo Group Ltd. was ranked as the No. 1 vendor, followed by HP Inc. Dell Technologies Inc., Apple Inc. and Acer Inc. rounded out the top five.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 12, 2020 15:44 ET (19:44 GMT)

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