Here’s More Depressing News for the PC Industry

Just in case the personal computer industry did not already have enough headwinds, a new report expects shipments to decline for the second-consecutive year.

Sales of desktop and portable PCs are in need of a reboot, but they will have to wait at least a little bit longer. PC shipments for 2013 are set to decline by 1.3 percent, according to the International Data Corporation Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. Even more concerning, tablets from companies such as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Samsung (SSNLF.PK), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) are only part of the problem.

“The PC market is still looking for updated models to gain traction and demonstrate sufficient appeal to drive growth in a very competitive market,” said Loren Loverde, Program Vice President. “Growth in emerging regions has slowed considerably, and we continue to see constrained PC demand as buyers favor other devices for their mobility and convenience features. We still don’t see tablets (with limited local storage, file system, lesser focus on traditional productivity, etc.) as functional competitors to PCs – but they are winning consumer dollars with mobility and consumer appeal nevertheless.”