The traditional PC market in India inclusive of desktops, notebooks, and workstations grew by 27.0 per cent year-over-year (YoY) in Q4 2020, according to new data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker.

Traditional PC shipments in Q4 2020 (Oct-Dec) amounted to 2.9 million.

The growth of the PC market was led by notebooks with notebook shipments growing 62.1 per cent YoY, contributing more than three-fourths of total shipments.

“The growth driver continues to be the demand from e-learning and remote working, leading to a 74.1 per cent and 14.1 per cent annual growth in the consumer and enterprise segments, respectively,” as per the IDC report.

Overall, 2020 ended as the biggest year for notebooks with 7.9-million-unit shipments during the year.

“Had the industry not been challenged by the component shortages, notebook shipments could have been much higher during the year,” IDC said.

Also read: Global Personal Computer shipments increased 35 per cent in Q4 2020: Report

On the contrary, desktop shipments declined 33.2 per cent in 2020 “as companies reduced their spending on fixed computing devices and preferred mobile devices to manage their operations remotely.” This led to a 6.4 per cent decline for the overall PC market during the year.

“The massive demand in the consumer segment driven by online learning led the exceptional performance of notebooks. Likewise, gaming notebook PCs were one of the fastest-growing categories, further proof of the growing importance of gaming in the country,” said Bharath Shenoy, Market Analyst, PC Devices, IDC India.

“The market saw demand across the price bands and concluded the biggest fourth-quarter shipments for notebooks in India. However, the severe supply challenges for entry-level CPUs and panels restricted the growth, as supply remains much lower than the current demand in the country,” added Shenoy.

Top players

As for the top players in the market, Dell Technologies overtook HP in Q4 as the top player with a 27.5 per cent market share as its shipments grew 57.1 per cent YoY. It also led the commercial segment with a share of 32.7 per cent. HP had a market share of 26.7 per cent in Q4. It, however, remained the top player for the full year of 2020 while maintaining its lead in the consumer segment

HP was followed by Lenovo, Acer, and Asus with an 18.4 per cent, 8.5 per cent and 6.4 per cent market share, respectively in Q4 2020.

“2021 will give another opportunity to the vendors to leverage the missed prospects due to supply constraints in 2020. So far, consumer demand does not seem to be abating anytime soon, and enterprises also continue to place fresh orders,” Jaipal Singh, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India said.

“Additionally, many government education deals are under discussion which can set a strong foundation for 2021. However, if the current supply challenges continue for some more months, it can offset the ongoing demand to some extent. Availability of the devices will not only be critical for the category growth but will play an important role in the expansion of the market in the country,” added Singh.

Published on February 18, 2021