Indian PC mkt dips 11.7% in Q3CY22; demand to be slow for next 2 qtrs: IDC

India’s traditional PC market, inclusive of desktops, notebooks, and workstations declined by 11.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in Q3CY22 (Jul-Sep) after 8 consecutive quarters of growth despite strong shipments of 3.9 million units, according to new data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker.

All segments declined except the government, which grew by 91.5 per cent YoY on the back of government orders, leading to strong growth in the third consecutive quarter. While the desktop and workstation categories grew by 23.4 per cent and 17.6 per cent YoY respectively, the notebook category declined by 19.5 per cent YoY. The demand for notebooks has softened across segments, forcing vendors to clear inventory.

IDC also said that demand will be slow for the next two quarters as well on softening demand from consumer and IT/ITeS segment and also impact of inflation.

“We expect a slowdown in PC procurement from the IT/ITES sector, which is typically one of the biggest buyers. Similarly, we are witnessing some sluggishness in SME procurement as they are challenged by inflation and a credit crunch. But the government and education segments are seeing some orders which can drive small volumes in the commercial segments in the next two quarters. In the consumer segment, early Diwali helped gain momentum in September, but the next two quarters are expected to be slow. Supply disruptions are no longer an immediate concern, but softening of demand across segments is a major worry,” said Navkendar Singh, associate vice president, Devices Research, IDC India, South Asia & ANZ.

For Q3, the consumer segment shipped 2.1 million units with online sales helping in picking up momentum at the end of September. However, that was not sufficient to prevent a 10.9 per cent YoY decline. Similarly, the commercial segment was impacted due to a delay in enterprise orders as well as muted SME sentiment, leading to a YoY decline of 12.5 per cent.

While the demand for premium notebooks (>$1,000) declined sharply by 28.5 per cent YoY in the commercial segment, premium consumer notebooks grew by 9.8 per cent YoY. The strong performance by Apple and good traction for ASUS’ gaming notebooks were the key drivers.

“With schools and colleges opening, the consumer segment is seeing tapering demand for the past few months as demand for remote learning has come to a standstill. Weakened currency is resulting in rising device costs and pricing pressure for vendors. As the online sales were going on, vendors delayed price increases in Q3, but the discounts weren’t as lucrative as in previous years either. Vendors are expected to increase prices in Q4, which might further dampen sentiment,” said Bharath Shenoy, senior market analyst, IDC India.

HP continued to lead the overall PC market with a share of 23.9 per cent in Q3CY22. Its consumer share dipped to 22.1 per cent and commercial share dipped to 25.9 per cent as it focused on inventory corrections, but it continued to lead both segments.

Lenovo overtook Dell for the second position with a strong showing in the consumer segment where it continued to hold its second position with a share of 18.8 per cent thanks to online sales. In a quarter of softening SME procurement, Lenovo led the segment with a share of 32 per cent.

Dell Technologies slipped to the third position as it lost momentum in the consumer segment as it decided to stay away from online sales. But it was a close second behind HP in the commercial segment with a share of 25.3 per cent, where it continued to have good traction.

Acer Group continued to hold the fourth position with a share of 10.9 per cent. Acer witnessed strong traction in the commercial segment as it grew by 28.2 per cent YoY there. It led the commercial desktop category with a share of 31.3 per cent, driven by fulfillment of several enterprise and government orders plus good traction in Government eMarketplace (GeM) space for its commercial desktops.

ASUS maintained fifth position with a share of 9.9 per cent, much higher than the 8.5 per cent share it had in Q3CY21. The vendor was third in the consumer segment with a share of 18.2 per cent, marginally behind Lenovo. In the consumer notebook category, it managed to hold second position behind HP and ahead of Lenovo with a share of 20.6 per cent. The vendor performed well during online sales and has also been expanding its offline reach, which helped it to gain share.