Global personal computer (PC) sales fell 8.6 percent in the third quarter from a year ago due to gloomy economic sentiment and the shift to tablets and smartphones, an industry report said on October 11.
Potential buyers were also holding back for the expected release in the fourth quarter of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, US-based technology research firm IDC said in a statement. Sales of PCs in the July-September quarter totalled 87.8 million units, down from 96.08 million in the same period in 2011, tumbling more steeply than IDC's forecast of a 3.8 percent contraction.
"PCs are going through a severe slump," said Jay Chou, a senior analyst with IDC's World-wide PC Tracker. "The industry had already weathered a rough second quarter, and now the third quarter was even worse." David Daoud of IDC said alternative devices like tablets continued to eat into the PC market.
The International Monetary Fund has cut its global economic growth forecasts for this year and next, while the World Bank and Asian Development Bank has also slashed projections for Asia.