PC shipments go up as working from home continues

Working from home pushed an increase in PC shipments last quarter.

What you need to know

• PC shipments increased in the second quarter of 2020.
• Between 64.8 million and 72.3 million units shipped in Q2 2020, according to varying reports.
• The increased shipments come as a result of people continuing to work from home.

PC shipments are on the way up according to recent figures from IDC and Gartner. The increase is likely the result of the continued push to work from home due to the ongoing global pandemic. Shipments of PCs in Q2 2020 reached 72.3 million units according to IDC and 64.8 million according to Gartner.

The discrepancy between the figures are in part a result of the fact that IDC does not include Chromebooks in its PC shipments but Gartner does. The companys' figures also vary when measuring percentage changes, with IDC reporting that PC shipments increased 11.2 percent year over year and Gartner reporting a 2.8 percent year over year increase.

While the figures vary, the data from both companies show an upward trend for PC shipments. As more people work from home, demand for PCs seems to be on the rise.

That rise in demand started earlier this year, but supply constraints affected how many PCs manufacturers could ship. Canalys research director Rushabh Doshi stated in the April report, "The PC industry has been boosted by the global COVID-19 lockdown, with products flying off the shelves throughout Q1." Despite this increase in demand, Doshi pointed out issues that affected shipments, stating, "But PC makers started 2020 with a constrained supply of Intel processors, caused by a botched transition to 10nm nodes. This was exacerbated when factories in China were unable to reopen after the Lunar New Year holidays."

It's important to note that PC shipments are not the same as PC sales. PC shipments refer to how many devices were shipped to retailers, not consumers. That being said, they're still indicative of the demand for PCs in the market.