Could the monitor boom be over already?

A new IDC report has claimed that the PC monitor market has seen a significant decline for the first time since the pandemic began. 

In total, roughly 34.8 million monitors were sold and shipped in Q3 2021, down 7.2% compared to the same period in 2020, the analyst firm said.

According to the report, a “softening” consumer demand is the key reason for this decline, but supply and logistic issues were also mentioned. However, not all manufacturers faced the same fate. Dell and Lenovo, for example, have still had a successful quarter. Dell grew 20.6% year-on-year, while Lenovo did 6.9% for the same period. Everyone else was in the negative, though.

Bucking the trend

This isn’t a one-time thing, either, IDC further argues, saying that the trend has indeed shifted and that it expects the decline to continue in Q4 2021. Even if it does, the full year is still expected to show a 4.6% growth, compared to 2020.

“We expect the market to achieve peak volume as we end 2021 with the highest shipment levels since 2012," noted Jay Chou, IDC research manager for the Worldwide Quarterly PC Monitor Tracker. 

While Chou added he expects the commercial segment to propel the market, he states that the consumer one should not be underestimated, although sales of the latter devices also fell 12%.

“We believe the changes wrought by the permanency of hybrid work and flexible learning will enable faster refresh rates across all user segments,” said Chou.

Remote working caused by the pandemic triggered a buying frenzy among consumers looking to obtain the gear needed to remain operational. That frenzy seems to be dying down now, at least when business monitors are concerned.

Hybrid working has proven itself a sustainable model over these past two years, and with it, the demand for new tech will probably remain somewhat higher. Whether or not refresh cycles speed up or not, as a result, remains to be seen.

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