IFA 2018: Need for Performance Drives Global PC Market

The need for performance and experience seems to be a driving force behind the consumer PC revenues, especially when it comes to gaming PCs and premium devices, according to GfK. Computers with high-end processors, high capacities of RAM, flash memory and hybrid hard drives generate significant and growing portions of sales to consumers.

The demand for consumer desktops and mobile PCs has been under pressure in the recent years. In spite of the unit decline, the rising average PC prices managed to stabilized the revenue which declined globally by five percent to €2.0 billion for Desktop PCs and by four percent to €13.3 billion for Mobile PCs.

On one side, the supply and availability of key components drove the prices upward in the past year. On the other side, the demand for better performing and elegant products, which offer a premium experience and quality, has been affecting the value developments in a positive way.

Within both Mobile and Desktop computers the average selling price increased further by five and seven percent in the first half of 2018 to reach €602 and €527 respectively. Growing average prices of non-gaming PCs and expanding shares of gaming PCs invigorated this trend.

Mobile PCs with high-end processors grew by two percent in revenue and generated almost two-thirds of value turnover in the first six months of 2018. The increase came mainly from high-performing gaming notebooks, which increased their sales revenue in the first half of 2018 by 32 percent compared to the same period in 2017. In terms of regional distribution, Western Europe and APAC accounted for 37 percent and 36 percent respectively of the turnover for the gaming notebooks.

Desktop’s revenue share with high-end processors reached nearly 60 percent in the same period after a dynamic value growth of over 26 percent for gaming and three percent for non-gaming PCs. RAM also contributed to the performance trends. Models, equipped with at least 8 GB of RAM, generated over 61 percent of the turnover for both notebooks and desktop PCs.

Hybrid hard drives, which combine a hard disk drive and an SSD capacity, added to the growth momentum as well. Desktop PCs with a hybrid hard drive accounted for almost one third of the desktop value turnover, and those with a storage capacity over 1,000 GB were responsible for 68 percent of the consumer sales turnover in the first six months of 2018.

Non-gaming mobile PCs with SSD have further driven the trend towards thin notebooks. Every four out of ten devices sold in the period from January to June 2018 were equipped with an SSD, while their turnover in value accounted for half of the total turnover of the non-gaming mobile PCs.

After a period of fluctuation and instability, the developing markets are contributing again to the value growth of the PC market. Central Europe (+9 percent) and CIS (+4 percent) were pushing the Desktop PC trend in a positive direction, while CIS (+18 percent) and LATAM (+14 percent) were the growth drivers for Mobile PCs.

Within the Gaming PC segment, the speed and reliability of the home network is crucial for the gaming experience. The pressure on the home network also increases due to the requirements of the VR (virtual reality) technology, especially wireless. The value turnover of fully capable VR glasses for PCs in EU10 & Russia achieved double-digit growth and reached over 20 million euros in the first half of 2018, with Germany, Great Britain and France being the main markets.