As we're halfway into the final quarter of the year, sales aren't looking good for Chromebooks. The tech company is performing poorly after its rapid growth in previous quarters.
A new report has come out, showing that Chromebook sales are dropping massively. But why are the sales so poor, and is there any hope for recovery? Let's find out.
Chromebook Sales Are Dropping Drastically
According to a report released by Canalys, Chromebook sales are down to nine percent in Q3 from 18 percent in the last quarter, with pandemic-related sales issues and delays leading to a 37 percent year-over-year drop, with just 5.8 million units sold.
As far as vendors of Chromebooks are concerned, leading vendor Lenovo was down more than 20 percent year-over-year, followed by HP, which lost 66 percent. Trailing behind HP was Acer, which dropped more than 28 percent.
Chromebook wasn't the only PC that saw dismal sales, however, it had some of the worst, and all this following a string of successive growth quarters.
Why Fewer People Are Buying Chromebooks
The decline in Chromebook sales could be attributed to a number of factors, but Canalys points to the slowdown in education spending in the US.
Canalys believes this had more to do with market saturation than the global parts shortages and supply chain issues that affected the tech industry.
Although the Chromebook market has grown tremendously since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, that growth dwindled down as public sector funding of digital education programs slowed down. As Canalys stated in its report:
The Chromebook market was hit by a massive downturn, with a 37% year-on-year fall in shipments (52% quarter on quarter) in Q3. This comes as major education markets such as the U.S. and Japan reach saturation point, with public sector funding of digital education programs slowing.
Canalys cites Chrome's strategy as the reason for its massive drop in sales, saying it was inevitable due to its focus on the education market. As explained by Canalys Research Analyst Brian Lynch in the same report:
Chrome’s focus on the education market meant it was bound to slow down at some point. Governments, education institutions and households have invested heavily in Chromebooks for more than a year, and with so many students equipped with devices and schools returning to in-class learning, shipment volumes have fallen accordingly.
Still, Chrome has massively expanded its user base over the past year and a half and will have far more refresh opportunity due to that growth. Google has also made a significant investment in the enterprise market this year as it attempts to broaden its horizons beyond its secure position in the education space.
While this domain presents a much harder challenge for Chrome, it will be able to lean on its economy, security and ease of management to carve out a niche.
Will Chromebooks Bounce Back From This Massive Drop in Sales?
While Chromebook sales look dim at the moment, Canalys believes there's hope for the company, and its banking on the US education market picking up with time.
Canalys cites two reasons for its optimism. Firstly, many school districts are awaiting funding from the US government’s multi-billion-dollar ECF program. The second reason is seasonality. Because schools aim to have one PC per student, they'll be more strategic in purchasing devices for students prior to the start of a school year, which should drive up Chromebook sales again.