Research group IDC says European PC sales will not see a Christmas spike this year and it has slashed its global market forecast to reflect weakening demand for PCs from both consumer and business users.
Total worldwide PC shipments are expected to reach 135.5 million in 2002 at a growth rate of 1.1%, with growth of 8.4% projected for 2003. The numbers have been cut back from June's forecast of growth of 4.7% in 2002 and 11.1% in 2003.
Loren Loverde, director of IDC's worldwide quarterly PC tracker, said: "The surge in pre-Christmas sales has ended because the function of the PC has not evolved even though the engine [processor] has — so home users are happy with what they've got.
"We are waiting for our next killer application. Market saturation is also to blame."
Forecasting for 2002 and 2003, Loverde added: "We don't expect to see a significant recovery until both consumer and business demand picks up, and we may reach the middle of next year before that happens."