PC Shipments Growth

PC shipments grew 55% year over year during the first quarter of 2021. Apple and Acer had the highest growth rates, while Dell lagged its major competitors, as shown in this bar-mekko chart with data rows and average line. PC shipments data were compiled by IDC.

PC Shipments in a Bar Mekko Chart with Data Rows and Average Line

Why Use a Bar-Mekko Chart to Track PC Shipments

The bar-mekko chart allowed me to highlight growth rates in shipments. This measure is set to the bar height, which makes it very prominent to the viewer. The relative size of the competitors is captured in the bar width, making it easier to see the relationship between growth rate and size for each competitor. The average line highlights the above and below average growth rates in PC shipments. The data rows show shipment numbers and market share.

How I Made This PC Shipments Bar-Mekko Chart

Here is the data I used to create the chart:

Here's how I made the bar-mekko chart:

copy the PC shipments data from IDC into Excel
add column for Q1 shipments (M)
create bar-mekko chart in PowerPoint from the Excel data range
use Switch Bars and Series to treat rows as bars
in Format Bars and Series, set and format data rows, bar width row, and hidden data
add average line
format bar totals as percentages
sort bars with wideset on left and exclude Others from sort
add y axis title and hide other elements of y axis and hide x axis line
adjust internal chart margins
format bar totals with M as suffix
choose color by bars and set Others bar color to grey