India PC market continues to surge, ships 3.1 mn PCs in Q1: IDC

Driven by work-from-home and online learning in the wake of COVID-19-induced lockdowns, the traditional PC market (inclusive of desktops, notebooks and workstations) in India continued its growth streak with shipments growing 73.1% year-over-year (YoY) in the first quarter (January-March) this year, according to new data from the International Data Corporation.

A total of 3.1 million PCs were shipped, recording the highest ever first-quarter shipments to India, said IDC. Again, notebooks remained the driving category with more than three-fourths share of the PC category, registering a stellar 116.7% YoY growth in the first quarter of 2021, the report showed. Additionally, the desktop category remained steady and showed initial signs of recovery.

PCs were in high demand as enterprises, SMBs, and consumers continued their purchases. Supply has been inconsistent over the past few quarters, and demand continued to outstrip the supply allocation for the country. At the closing of the quarter, vendors were able to manage better allocations from their headquarters. Additionally, the lower than usual shipments in 1Q20 aided the annual growth as it looks more favorable due to the lower base.

“Many companies remained fully remote or had adopted a hybrid working model to manage the growing concerns of the pandemic within the country. As cases continued to rise, a few large enterprises procured PCs in bulk to manage their workforces, adopting these new working models for the long haul,” said Bharath Shenoy, Market Analyst, PC Devices, IDC India.

“The demand for virtual learning is still strong, alongside a stronger demand for affordable PCs. This is evident from the recovery of desktops in the consumer segment, which grew 49.5% YoY in 1Q21, despite the growing trend of notebooks replacing desktops,” he added.

Top 5 companies

HP Inc. returned to the top position, replacing Dell in the overall PC market as its shipments grew 102.1% YoY in 1Q21. The vendor also led both consumer and commercial segments with shares of 33.0% and 32.8%, respectively. Key customer wins and better supplies in this quarter helped HP to regain the leading position.

Dell Technologies moved to second position with a 21.8% share with 45.4% YoY growth in 1Q21. Dell also slipped to third position in the consumer segment as its shipments declined 49.5% from the previous quarter. However, it maintained its lead in the enterprise segment with a 40.9% share and secured the second position in the overall commercial segment.

Lenovo maintained the third position and recorded 73.4% YoY growth in 1Q21. Lenovo also witnessed supply challenges; however, it was able to get allocations on time that helped it to register impressive growth in the consumer and SMB segments.

Acer Group retained the fourth position with a 7.7% market share in 1Q21, which further dipped from 8.5% in 4Q20. Delayed supplies of commercial desktops increased its woes. While it led the category in 4Q20, it dropped to the third position in 1Q21.

Asus tied with Apple for the fifth position with a share of 5.4% in 1Q21. Its shipments saw an 83.9% YoY growth but declined 10.9% sequentially. Additionally, it slipped to the fifth position in the consumer segment.

Apple recorded its biggest quarter for PC shipments in India and tied for the fifth position with Asus. Its shipments grew 335.5% YoY and 45.3% from the previous quarter. It also replaced Asus for the fourth position in the consumer segment.

Jaipal Singh, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India, said, “PC vendors are staring at uncertainty for the next few months, with new lockdowns impacting consumer sales, delaying government projects, and limiting supplies into the country. Additionally, the current COVID situation has also impacted the field teams. While most vendors’ immediate concern is re-joining with full strength, they will also use this time to plan their inventory for the coming quarters, as we will see a further surge in the PC demand when the situation improves in the coming months.”