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The personal computing (PC) market in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region is set to decline in the third quarter of the year due to weak demand amid high living costs.
A total of 5.2 million PC devices, including desktops, notebooks, workstations and tablets, will be shipped to the region in the current quarter, down by 16.1% compared to a year ago, according to industry analysis conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC).
In a report on Monday, the global technology research and consulting firm said the decline is expected because some of last year's massive IT projects are not likely to be repeated in the third quarter, while inflation is biting into consumer's finances.
The biggest fall in shipments will be in markets like South Africa and Egypt.
"Consumer demand is expected to remain weak due to higher costs of living which have inhibited consumer spending on other commodities, including IT products," said Fouad Charakla, IDC's Associate Research Director for client devices in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa.
"This is expected to have a negative ripple effect on businesses as well, driving down commercial demand for PCDs as well."
However, IDC noted that the region's PC market is still performing much better than it did before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Total PC shipments in the region are expected to reach 14.6 million units for 2022, down from 15.1 million in 2021 but up considerably on the 11.5 million shipped in 2019.
"The market will contract slightly in 2023 and then start to recover again from 2024 onwards," Charakla said.
Table shipments for the whole year will be "significantly weaker" when compared to pre-pandemic levels. The trend is set to continue over the subsequent years.
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria )
