Despite Weaker Global Demand, PC Sales Rise In India By 3.0% In Q1 2013: Says IDC

The overall India PC shipments for Q1 2013 stood at 2.71 million units i.e. a year-on-year growth of roughly 3% over Q1 2012 and a quarter-on-quarter growth of about 7.5% over Q4 2012.

According to Kiran Kumar, Research Manager, IDC India, "In the commercial PC market, the drag noticed in the past couple of quarters waned off in Q1 2013, driving quarter-on-quarter growth in the commercial spending to about 12.8% over Q4 2012. The branded desktops witnessed execution of a few large deals, primarily in BFSI, IT and Government verticals, supporting the overall commercial growth in Q1 2013". However, the consumer market remained largely flat with a marginal quarter-on-quarter growth of 1.5% noted over Q4 2012. "High inventory in the beginning of the quarter and weak sales towards the closing weeks largely pulled back the growth witnessed in Q1 2013", adds Kiran.

In terms of vendor share, HP claimed the top spot with a 22.5% market share in Q1 2013. According to Manish Yadav, Market Analyst , IDC India, "In addition to their success in the consumer business, HP picked up key wins and witnessed the execution of large deals in Government and BFSI verticals in Q1. Most importantly, the vendor picked up the special deal on laptops in the state of UP, which cemented its position for the top spot". Acer and Dell tied up for the second place with a share of 13.8% in Q1 2013. "Both the vendors continue to play to their respective segment strengths. Acer remains strong in the commercial business while Dell was seen riding high on its price cuts, specially on notebooks", adds Manish. Dell bounced back on the commercial business too, owing to a mix of their price aggression, after-sales support and product quality.

IDC India Forecasts:

IDC anticipates stable prices and back to school campaigns to reverse the sober mood in the consumer PC market. "With the next update of Windows 8 for small screens on the offering and vendors gearing up for Intel's upcoming Haswell and Bay Trail processors, it'll be interesting to watch if this triggers significant growth for PCs in the second half of the year. We've seen in the recent past that some of the new launches like slim notebooks have struggled to make an impact because of price premium. Hence, it'll be imperative for these new launches to remain affordable while highlighting the new/differentiating features. Also, we continue to believe that poll programs such as manifesto driven deals and e-governance projects would sustain and largely drive commercial spending in the India PC market", adds Kiran.