India's PC market shipped 4.3 million units in Q1 2022, shows data from IDC  

The Indian PC market shipped over 4.3 million units in the first quarter of 2022 (Jan-March), registering a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 37.7 per cent. Of the total shipments, notebook shipments amounted to 3.1 million units, and the desktop category saw more than a million units for the first time since the third quarter of 2014, showed data from market intelligence firm IDC. The report from IDC also pointed out that the demand for PCs continued to stay strong across segments as people continued to procure PCs for remote learning and working.  

“The consumer segment stayed positive as it witnessed an impressive 27.9 per cent YoY 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.”

With the financial year-end in Q1 (Jan-Mar), even the government segment witnessed a significant recovery. Enterprise and SME buying remained upbeat and grew 47.2 per cent and 31.7 per cent YoY, respectively. Additionally, vendors tried to procure sufficient stock in anticipation of supply delays due to lockdowns in China. In all this, the online channels had a share of 13.4 per cent and witnessed YoY growth of 17.5 per cent, offline channels witnessed the bigger spike as they grew by 41.4 per cent YoY.

In the said quarter, HP shipped over 1.4 million units and continued to lead the overall PC market with a share of 33.8 per cent. According to IDC, the vendor had its biggest ever consumer quarter in 1Q22, shipping close to 650,000 units with a share of 33.2 per cent. It also had a strong commercial quarter with a share of 34.3 per cent.

Dell Technologies secured a distant second position with 19.4 per cent share and 22.6 per cent YoY growth in 1Q22. While it was ahead of Lenovo in the commercial segment with a share of 24.2 per cent, in the consumer segment, it was a close third behind Lenovo. The vendor was second in the enterprise segment with a share of 31.5 per cent, driven by strong momentum from its global accounts.

Commenting on the numbers, Ketan Patel, MD, HP India Market, pointed out that this shows there is a clear upswing in the pC market, owing largely to the hybrid model of working.

“An upswing in the PC market, owing to the hybrid model of working and learning has prompted the future. With PCs becoming the most dependable tech tools, we at HP will continue our focus on consistent insights-based innovation and introduce products to address the evolving best in class experience to users from all segments," Patel said.

Lenovo continued to hold its third position in 1Q22 with a share of 17.6 per cent. The vendor managed 20.5 per cent YoY growth, primarily driven by a strong performance in the commercial segment. It clocked its second-biggest quarter ever among SMBs, shipping close to 200,000 units and growing at 37.5 per cent YoY. Acer was at the fourth position with 9.8 per cent market share in 1Q22 and Asus at fifth with 6.2 per cent share.

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.”