Report: Coronavirus May Cause PC Sales to Drop 30%

Global PC sales could fall 30% year-over-year in the first half of 2020 as COVID-19 threatens both supply and demand worldwide, DigiTimes reported today, citing unnnamed "industry sources." 

The supply problem could actually ease up in Q2 2020, DigiTimes said, as China recovers from the outbreak. China said Wednesday that it recorded no new cases of COVID-19 in the prior seven days, and production might resume as a result. Bloomberg reported. 

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But that doesn't mean COVID-19's effect on the PC industry will be over. Companies also have to sell their products, of course, and measures taken to contain the pandemic might stymy those efforts. 

"With many cities in North America and Europe locked down and the EU closing its external borders, Amazon has also announced that its warehouses in the U.S. and the UK are only storing and shipping daily necessities from now on until April 5, and the move is expected to hinder PC sales during the period," DigiTimes said. 

The publication added that "Asustek has already estimated a 40% sequential drop in its first-quarter PC shipments, while most other PC brands are likely to see shipments nosedive," again citing anonymous industry sources.

It wouldn't be outrageous to assume that demand will fall as a result of COVID-19's broader economic impact. Many people lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19 (and the containment measures it's prompted) and won't have spare income as a result.

Much of this is conjecture, though, or is based on DigiTimes' anonymous industry sources. We aren't going to realize the full impact COVID-19 will have on the PC industry--or, you know, our lives--this early in the pandemic's global outbreak.