IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker® fills the growing demand for detailed, timely, and accurate information on the global PC market. It provides insightful analysis, quarterly market share data, and a five-year quarterly forecast by country. The core of the product is a comprehensive electronic database detailing changes and trends in the highly competitive PC market. IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker is built on the foundation of IDC's network of country-level quarterly PC tracking services, and its bottom-up methodology delivers an accurate view of the PC market from those closest to it.
Technology Coverage and Data Segmentation for Historical PC data
This tracker provides total market size and vendor share for the following technology areas and segmentations. Measurement for this tracker is in unit shipments value and average selling price.
Technologies and subtechnologies:
Form factor: Desktop PC, portable PC
Product category: Mini notebook PC, all-in-one PC, other desktop PC, notebook PC (13in.+), ultra portable PC (12in. and smaller), and convertible notebook PC
Quarterly shipments and end-user spending from 1994 through a rolling five-year forecast
Price bands, processor (CPU) data
800+ vendors and 300+ vendor brands
User segmentations and sales channel:
Channels: Retailer; vendor direct — relationship; vendor direct — transactional; dealer/VAR/SI; vendor direct — Internet; telco; vendor direct — store; electronic retailer; and others
Segments: Home, small office (1–9 employees), small business (10–99 employees), medium-sized business (100–499 employees), large business (500–999 employees), very large business (1,000+ employees), government, and education
Geographic Scope
Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) available by 16 countries
Canada
Central/Eastern Europe available by 16 countries
Japan
Latin America available by 9 countries
Middle East/Africa available by 26 countries
United States
Western Europe available by 16 countries
Forecast Coverage
Forecasts for this tracker are updated quarterly and include historical data back to 1994, up to two years of quarterly forecasts, and an additional three years of annual market projections. Forecasts are available at the worldwide, regional, and country levels outlined previously. Forecast details are made for unit shipment, value, and average selling price and also include:
Form factor: Desktop PC, portable PC
Product category: Desktop PC, large portable PC, small portable PC, and mini notebook PC
Channels: Retailer; vendor direct — relationship; vendor direct — transactional; dealer/VAR/SI; vendor direct — Internet; telco; vendor direct — store; electronic retailer; and others
Segments: Home, small office (1–9 employees), small business (10–99 employees), medium-sized business (100–499 employees), large business (500–999 employees), very large business (1,000+ employees), government, and education
Delivery Schedule and Deliverables
This tracker is delivered on a quarterly basis via Excel pivot tables and/or a Web-based query tool. The delivery schedule for this tracker is as follows:
Week 3: Preliminary top 5 vendor data
Week 4: Preliminary top 10 vendor data
Week 5: One-hour-long telebriefing of preliminary market results
Week 7: Historical database and analysis published
Week 8: Historical data add-on products published (expanded price bands, segment by channel)
Week 9: Forecast database and analysis published
Week 10: Forecast data add-on products published (price band forecast, installed base [semiannual], segment by channel forecast, sub form factor forecast)
IDC's Tracker Methodology
IDC's tracker data is developed using a rigorous methodology that includes well-planned and well-coordinated local, regional, and worldwide data cross-checks combined with a proprietary advanced data consolidation and analysis data platform managed by IDC's Worldwide Tracker organization. Data sources used in the process of determining IDC's tracker numbers include, but are not limited to:
In-country local vendor interviews
Distribution data feeds
Worldwide and regional vendor guidance
ODM data
In-country local channel partner discussions
Import records
Feedback from component suppliers
Vendor briefings and public financial reports
Enabling Better Business Decisions Across the Organization
IDC trackers provide the accurate and timely market size, vendor share, and forecast information you need to identify market and product expansion opportunities, increase revenues, and win market share. IDC's tracker research is a critical input to the planning and monitoring cycles of the business process. Common uses of the tracker data include:
Planning Process
Regional, state or city-level planning — setting regional, country, state or city-level sales targets based on market opportunity
Product marketing — creating a product strategy and road map based on currently available product features and expected growth
Production planning — using customer demand data as an input in the creation of production schedules
Product portfolio planning — accessing accurate and detailed data as an input into the product development process
Monitoring Process
Performance measurement — comparing vendor performance on prior fiscal periods
