# Business Casual: Will a Rise in Q2 PC Shipments Endure the Recession and Pandemic?

Published 2020-07-13 · Updated 2026-03-19 · Professional AV on MarketScale
Canonical: https://www.marketscale.com/industries/pro-av/pc-shipments-endure-the-recession-and-pandemic

> Powered by RedCircle In April, CNBC reported that due to disruptions in supply chains caused by the coronavirus outbreak, global sales of PCs in the first quarter 2020 suffered a sharp slump, with only 51.6 million PC units shipped in the first three months of the year. That figure was down 12.3% from the previous…

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In April, CNBC [reported](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/14/pc-sales-suffer-worst-decline-since-2013-due-to-coronavirus-outbreak.html) that due to disruptions in supply chains caused by the coronavirus outbreak, global sales of PCs in the first quarter 2020 suffered a sharp slump, with only 51.6 million PC units shipped in the first three months of the year. That figure was down 12.3% from the previous year and marked the biggest fall in shipments since 2013. However, despite the economic slowdown, recent [reports](https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/10/21319750/pc-shipments-coronavirus-pandemic-idc-gartner-q2-2020) from leading research, market intelligence and advisory firms, Gartner and IDC, paint a much more positive picture for the second quarter of this year. IDC reports global shipments hitting 72.3 million units, an increase of 11.2% from the same quarter in 2019. Gartner, on the other hand, reports just 64.8 million units shipped—a less optimistic rise of 2.8% from Q2 last year. This disparity in shipments may be due to the fact that Gartner didn’t include Chromebooks in its reporting while IDC did. Both companies, though, agree that specific variables can be attributed to this resurgence of PC shipments, including students and businesses who have had to adapt to learning and working remotely.

On this [Business Casual](https://marketscale.com/industries/podcast-network/business-casual/) segment, MarketScale co-hosts [Tyler Kern](https://marketscale.com/industries/contributors/tyler-kern/) and [Daniel Litwin](https://marketscale.com/industries/contributors/daniel-litwin/) discuss:

1. Whether the escalation of shipments will be transitory or prolonged as the global recession and pandemic looms indefinitely
2. How manufacturers and businesses will react to this information
3. If consumers will opt for PCs over mobile moving forward
4. And much more!

Every week, [Business Casual](https://marketscale.com/industries/podcast-network/business-casual/) brings topics to the forefront that affect the technology sector and other B2B industries. Tune in each Wednesday and Friday to stay abreast of the trends and news shaping our world today.

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