New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS): With a market share of 22.5 per cent, HP Inc. retained the top spot in the global PC market in the fourth quarter of 2017 even as shipments continued to decline, market research firm Gartner said on Friday.

With shipments growing 6.6 per cent, HP Inc. witnessed Year-over-Year (YoY) growth in all regions, including the challenging US market.

The worldwide PC shipments stood at 71.6 million units in the fourth quarter, which is a two per cent decline from the fourth quarter of 2016.

"In the fourth quarter of 2017, there was PC shipment growth in Asia-Pacific, Japan and Latin America. There was only a moderate shipment decline in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA)," Mikako Kitagawa, Principal Analyst at Gartner, said in a statement.

"The US market saw a steep decline, which offset the generally positive results in other regions," Kitagawa added.

Hong Kong-based Lenovo grabbed the second spot in the global PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2017 with a market share of 22 per cent, followed by Dell with a market share of 15.2 per cent.

Lenovo had moderate growth in EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions, but shipments declined in North America.

In the third quarter of 2017, HP Inc. had 21.8 per cent market share while Lenovo registered 21.4 per cent in terms of PC shipments.

PC shipments surpassed 262.5 million units in 2017 which is a 2.8 per cent decline from 2016 and the 13th consecutive quarter of declining shipments.

"The fourth quarter results confirmed again that PCs are no longer popular holiday gift items. This does not mean that PCs will disappear from households," noted Kitagawa.

"Buyers will look for quality and functionality rather than looking for the lowest price, which will increase PC average selling prices (ASPs) and improve profitability in the long run. Until this point is reached, the market will have to go through the shrinking phase caused by fewer PC users," Kitgawa added.