The India traditional PC market, inclusive of desktops, notebooks, and workstations, delivered another strong quarter (Jan-Mar 2022) shipping over 4.3 million units with a y-o-y growth of 37.7%, according to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. While the notebook category continued to be the volume driver with 3.1 million units, the desktop category saw more than a million units for the first time since Q3 2014. A recovery in the government segment and a channel inventory push from the vendors helped the market to remain upbeat.  

PC segment stays strong

The demand for PCs continued to stay strong across segments as people continued to procure PCs for remote learning and working. With the financial year-end in Q1 (Jan-Mar), the government segment witnessed a significant recovery. Enterprise and SME buying remained upbeat and grew 47.2% and 31.7% y-o-y, respectively.

Additionally, vendors tried to procure sufficient stock in anticipation of supply delays due to lockdowns in China. While online channels had a share of 13.4% and witnessed y-o-y growth of 17.5%, offline channels witnessed the bigger spike as they grew by 41.4% y-o-y.

“The consumer segment stayed positive as it witnessed an impressive 27.9% y-o-y growth. While e-tail channels experienced good traction, the relaxation of Covid-19 related restrictions led to a surge in retail footfall as an increased number of people started buying PCs from offline stores, thereby leading to a strong consumer quarter,” said Bharath Shenoy, Senior Market Analyst, PC Devices, IDC India. He added, “With schools and colleges opening up, vendors are likely to run back-to-school campaigns in Q2, which might extend consumer momentum. However, high inflation and rising device prices may dampen sentiment as consumers delay their purchases.”

HP leads market

HP Inc. shipped over 1.4 million units and continued to lead the overall PC market with a share of 33.8% in Q1 22. Dell Technologies secured a distant second position with 19.4% share and 22.6% y-o-y growth in Q1 22. Lenovo continued to hold its third position in Q1 22 with a share of 17.6%. Acer Group retained the fourth position with 9.8% market share in Q1 22. While ASUS maintained the fifth position with a share of 6.2% in Q1 22 as it grew by a healthy 58.6%, IDC added in a release.

Commenting on the outlook, Navkendar Singh, Research Director, Client Devices, IDC India said, “While the market continues to see momentum in both the consumer and commercial segments, channel inventory is getting back to pre-pandemic levels. With enterprises opening up and heavy recruiting happening across many sectors, the enterprise segment is expected to stay upbeat in coming quarters. Government and education procurement is also picking up, so the commercial segment might witness high single-digit growth in 2022. However, high inflation is a matter of concern, primarily for SMEs and consumers.”

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