MEA notebook shipments to see 5.9% growth in 2020

• 2020 will be the first year ever for the region in which notebook demand will outstrip desktop demand in the commercial segment.
• Desktop market is expected to decline by 14.9% for the full year.
• Notebook market to see strong growth in second half but desktop demand to falter.

Dubai: Notebook shipments into the Middle East and Africa is expected to grow 5.9 per cent year on year in 2020, fuelled by e-learning and work-from-home initiatives.

Fouad R. Charakla, senior research manager at International Data Corporation Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, said that notebooks shipments are forecast to rise 5.2 per cent in the second half to 3.9 million units as the demand is expected to continue from the consumer and commercial segments.

However, the region’s overall personal computer market, including desktops, notebooks, workstations and tablets, is expected to decline 3.1 per cent in the second half to 10.6 million units.

In the second quarter, the overall market saw 9.3% year on year growth in shipments compared to shipments decline of 10.2% year on year during the first quarter of 2020.

 “Movement restrictions and caution exercised by people across the region to control the spread of the Covid-19 virus are expected to continue having a substantial positive impact on demand for notebooks and tablets, particularly as remote working and learning concepts remain common,” he said.

2021 will see a strong decline

As a result, he added that tablet shipments for the year will decline at a much slower pace than previously forecast (1.4 per cent), while notebook shipments will grow at a faster pace.

Moreover, he said that 2020 will be the first year ever for the region in which notebook demand will outstrip desktop demand in the commercial segment.

The overall desktop market is expected to decline by 14.9 per cent for the full year.

Charakla said that the personal computer market as whole for the year is expected to decline by just 1.7 per cent.

However, he said that 2021 will see a stronger decline due to the fact that many end users will have already made their purchases in 2020 and therefore not require replacement devices in the following year.

“The market will then continue declining at a much softer pace in the years beyond, primarily due to slowing demand for tablets,” he said.