Worldwide shipments of printers, which analyst firm IDC calls hardcopy peripherals, totaled 21.1 million units in the fourth quarter of 2023 (4Q23), a decline of 15.5% year over year.
As with the prior quarter, the decline was caused by constrained demand and the tightening of financing conditions.
Shipment value during 4Q23 also fell 11.7% to $9.7 billion, according to IDC. For the full year 2023, both units and shipment value declined year over year at -8.4% and -1.4%, respectively.
Every geographic region saw a year-over-year decline in shipments, ranging from -5.9% to -30.6%.
Among the three largest geographic markets, the United States fared the best, declining just 6.1% year over year.
Western Europe was down 11.8% and China saw shipments decline 30.6%. China’s economic recovery continues to be slower than expected, resulting in deeper than expected overall IT spending as the country continues to face challenges to its economic future.
While all the top 5 companies experienced year-over-year shipment contraction, Brother had the best quarter with a year-over-year decline of 7.5%.
The vendor was able to gain users from the small business segment as their recently launched entry level A4 color laser models with competitive pricing were well received.
