COVID-19 Pandemic To BOOST Notebook Sales

The COVID-19 pandemic will boost notebook sales as buyers shift from desktop computers, in one of the positive fallout of the deadly virus.

According to the latest industry analysis conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC) across the African and Middle East markets, while 2020 has been ravaged by COVID-19, it will be the first year that notebook sales will outstrip desktops in the commercial segment.

IDC says that notebook shipments across the regions are forecast to increase 5.2% year on year in H2 2020 to total 3.9 million units.

IDC study shows that the region’s overall personal computer (PCD) market — which is made up of desktops, notebooks, workstations, and tablets — is expected to decline 3.1% over the same period to 10.6 million units.

“Movement restrictions and caution exercised by people across the region to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus are expected to continue having a substantial positive impact on demand for notebooks and tablets, particularly as remote working and learning concepts remain common,” Fouad Charakla, IDC’s senior research manager for client devices in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa says.

“As a result, tablet shipments will decline at a much slower pace than previously forecast, while notebook shipments will grow at a faster pace.

“At the same time, the demand for desktops is expected to suffer considerably, as a large proportion of commercial end users — the primary buyers for desktops — continue shifting their purchases to notebooks. Consequently, 2020 will be the first year ever for the region in which notebook demand will outstrip desktop demand in the commercial segment”, according to the IDC exec.

“All these factors mean IDC expects 2020 as a whole to close with a year-on-year unit decline of just 1.7%. However, 2021 will see a stronger decline due to the fact that many end users will have already made their purchases in 2020 and therefore not require replacement devices in the following year. The market will then continue declining at a much softer pace in the years beyond, primarily due to slowing demand for tablets”, Charakla says.