The fear of tariffs resulted in panic purchases, which resulted in a strong boost in sales of PCs in the first quarter of 2025.
Personal Computing Devices Saw a Significant Growth in Q1 2025 in North America: Desktops Grew by a Whopping 35.3% Year-on-Year
The International Data Corporation has released its latest data on PC hardware sales for the first quarter of 2025. Recently, Counterpoint also shared the Q1 2025 stats for PC hardware sales, suggesting a good boost in AI PC sales, and, as per IDC's stats, the growth seemed to be incredibly significant in this time period.
While various IT segments saw good overall growth, personal computing devices saw the highest growth year-over-year. Compared to last year, both the notebook and desktop segments got a massive boost in sales, which, as per IDC, is mostly driven by the recent US tariffs that created uncertainty and fear among PC hardware manufacturers, distributors, and consumers.
The primary catalyst for the growth in personal computing devices was the heightened uncertainty around tariff negotiations between the USA and trading partners.
Despite risks to economic growth from rising tariffs, channels and commercial segments accelerated buying ahead of future cost increases.
- Ruth Flynn, Research VP of IDC Tracker & Data Products
This was one of the findings by Counterpoint as well, which boosted the AI PC sales noticeably compared to the previous quarter. As per IDC, this is the second consecutive quarter of growth in the North American region, mostly affecting the personal computing sector with 27.8% year-over-year growth. While notebook sales grew by a good 26.9% year-on-year, desktops saw a massive 35.3% growth in the same period, resulting in a total of $4.07B in revenue.
Surprisingly, workstation sales rose even higher with a staggering 49.3% year-over-year growth. This came as a result of panic purchases by the distributors and retailers ahead of the implementation of US Tariffs on other countries, including China, where PC hardware manufacturing is the most dominant. Distributor revenue rose 7.6% year-over-year, reaching a solid $19.9 billion. Even though the current 90-day pause on the tariffs is still active, the uncertainty has led to quick sales in Q1 2025.
While other IT sectors did see some direct and indirect impact of US tariffs, Software sales seem to be the second most affected segment despite exclusion from the tariffs. Software saw a good 13.2% year-over-year growth, accumulating almost $4.5B in revenue in that quarter. Storage software, Security software, and Physical & Virtual Compute Software saw the most growth in this period, and each of them saw double-digit growth.
News Source: IDC
About the author: Sarfraz Khan is a hardware reporter with a focus on PC components and the builder community. With years of experience writing about PC hardware and laptops, his work has been featured on several reputable technology publications. Sarfraz's hands-on experience is demonstrated through his first-person accounts of using and comparing different hardware configurations, providing practical and relatable insights for everyday users. His technical analysis is respected by peers in the enthusiast community and has been cited by specialized hardware sites such as Germany's Igor's Lab.
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