India PC market shipments skyrocket 48% to 5.8 mln units in Q1: Canalys

India’s PC market skyrocketed by 48% year-on-year to ship 5.8 million units in Q1 2022, surpassing the 5 million mark for the third quarter in a row, according to Canalys.

The PC shipments include desktops, notebooks, and tablets. The research firm attributed this growth to India’s success in managing the Covid-19 pandemic which allowed the economy to resurge, creating additional demand for personal computers and IT infrastructure, as well as, growing self-reliance in PC production.

HP Inc. took the top position in Q1, cornering a 25% share of the overall market and growing its shipments by 42% to 1.5 million units. Lenovo came in the second position with a 19% share and 1.1 million shipments, while Acer overtook Dell with a 256.2% growth to 626,000 shipments, according to Canalys.

Dell and Samsung closed off the chart at fourth and fifth positions, respectively, with a 10% and 7.4% share of the overall market.

HP also led desktop and notebook shipments with a 34% share of the market, followed by Lenovo (17.7%) and Dell (13.7%).

Acer and Asus sat in the fourth and fifth positions, with a 9.9% share and 6.2% share of the desktop and notebook market.

“While most of the world was in lockdown, India remained open for business as usual to a large degree. This helped the economy resurge, creating additional demand for PCs and other IT infrastructure. Secondly, India is slowly but surely inching toward self-reliance in PC production,” said Jash Shah, Research Analyst at Canalys.

Shah noted that 18% of all PCs sold in India are now manufactured locally, implying that India’s vulnerability to “Black Swan” like events in China is diminishing, and the country’s own demand for PC consumption is increasing.

The analyst further said the global macroeconomic events are raising multiple concerns over the sustainability of this growth, but India will stay strong for the coming few quarters, despite the softness expected in global markets.

According to Canalys, shipments in the quarter ended March 31 have beaten the previous record of 5.3 million in Q3 2021. In the last six quarters, shipments have grown by 44% on average, despite sustained pressure on the global supply chain. “India now accounts for 5% of global PC shipments, compared with just 3% two years ago.”

Notebooks were the largest category, with 3.4 million units shipped, up 36% year on year. Desktop shipments surpassed 880,000 units, a phenomenal 64% increase over Q1 2021. But tablets were the strongest category, with shipments reaching 1.6 million, up 69% on a year ago, largely due to government orders picking up again after a two-year hiatus, it said.

Shah said inflation-related issues continue to plague to market in 2022, as unprecedented global food prices have sent local prices soaring, with average inflation over 6% for the past three months.

With the Reserve Bank of India pushing up base lending rates, which are expected to continue to increase through the year to battle wholesale inflation, businesses in debt will feel the crunch, as they have less capital to work with, he added.

Shah cautioned that companies have shown an inclination to freeze budgets, stop hiring, and cut spending, which will have a ripple effect on IT procurement, and subsequently PC demand.

Canalys has suggested that PC vendors exercise caution while planning for the quarters ahead. At the same time, large government tenders for education are expected to keep the market buoyant.