Information technology industry market researchers Gartner Inc. and International Data Corp. today both reported a jump in personal computer shipments during the second quarter.

The surge came thanks to stronger demand from PCs to facilitate remote work during the coronavirus pandemic, but the recovery is likely to be short-lived, both firms said.

Gartner reported worldwide PC shipments of 64.8 million units during the quarter, up 28% year-over-year. IDC published a different number: 72.3 million shipments, up 11.2% compared to the same period a year ago.

The difference boils down to the way they define the PC market. Gartner takes into account shipments of desktop PCs, notebooks and ultramobile devices such as the Microsoft Surface, but does not count Chromebook or iPad sales. IDC defines PCs as desktops, notebooks, Chromebooks and workstations, but does not include tablets or Intel x86 servers.

Gartner Research Director Mikako Kitagawa said PC shipments saw “exceptionally strong growth” in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“After the PC supply chain was severely disrupted in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the growth this quarter was due to distributors and retail channels restocking their supplies back to near-normal levels,” he said.

Kitagawa said mobile PC sales were particularly strong thanks to the sudden boom in remote working and online education. But he warned that the uptick in sales was not likely to continue beyond this year, since it was mostly driven by short-term business needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

IDC also warned that sales were likely to lag in the coming quarters.

“What remains to be seen is if this demand and high level of usage continues during a recession and into the post-COVID world since budgets are shrinking while schools and workplaces reopen,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC’s Mobile Device Trackers.

Both Gartner and IDC ranked HP Inc. and Lenovo Group Ltd. as the top two PC sellers in the second quarter. Gartner put Lenovo just in front with a 25% share of the market, just ahead of HP with its 24.9% market share. IDC said however that HP was the top seller with 25% of the market, compared with Lenovo’s 24.1% market share. Both firms said HP had a particularly successful quarter with sales growth of more than 17%.

Dell Technologies Inc., Apple Inc. and Acer Inc. rounded out the top five list of PC sellers, according to both firms.

Photo: Skitterphoto/Pixabay