PC sales up for businesses

New figures from research firm IDC show businesses are catching up to consumers in PC sales, with growth of more than 24% during the first quarter of the year.

Shipments of desktop and laptop computers reached 79.1 million units, compared to 63.7 million units during the same period last year, the firm announced in its quarlery PC market report, equating to a 24.2% rise.

“The strong first quarter builds on the fourth quarter rebound and shows rising confidence in the PC supply chain and commercial client base along with persistent demand from consumers,” IDC analyst Loren Loverde said in a statement. “The commercial gains are a cornerstone of market rebound that we’ve been expecting and are now seeing in the data.”

However, the firm also said it will see smaller growth rates over the rest of the year as the market catches up to its losses from last year. It warned that growth will require “sustained economic growth”.

Shipments grew for Hewlett-Packard, the market leader, by 20% particularly in Asia/Pacific and Japan, with second-place Acer recording shipment increases of 42%. Dell, in third place, recorded growth of 21%.