PC shipments totaled 13.6 million units in the second quarter of 2012 - a 2.4 percent decline compared with the equivalent period in 2011. Meike Escherich, principal analyst at Gartner, said the Western European PC market recorded weak shipments across all countries.

"Consumer spending on PCs has been stalled by the ongoing economic uncertainty. If demand, especially from consumers, remains weak there might be some old stock left in the channels ahead of the Windows 8 launch in October," said Escherich.

"This could lead to significant price cuts in September, and challenges may arise in selling new products into the channel in the third quarter of 2012."

The was particularly bad, with Gartner recording a 7.6 percent decline in shipments during the second quarter. Both the consumer and professional sectors were affected, according to Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner.

With PC vendors under pressure to protect their margins, the top three (Dell, HP and Acer) all had to hold back on price promotions. As a result, they collectively lost more than four percent market share, with all three showing double-digit-percentage declines in shipments.