India’s PC Market Declined by 30.1% YoY in 1Q23 as Demand Continued to Drop

The India traditional PC market, inclusive of desktops, notebooks, and workstations, continued to drop shipping only 2.99 million units, a decline of 30.1% year-over-year (YoY) in 1Q23 (Jan-Mar), according to new data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. In 1Q23, while the demand for desktops was positive, the notebook category witnessed another weak quarter as it declined by 40.8% YoY. The consumer segment declined by 36.1% YoY primarily due to slowing demand and low market sentiment, and the commercial segment declined by 25.1% YoY due to reduced/delayed procurement by enterprises and SMEs.

Government and education were the only segments seeing positive traction in 1Q23. Procurement from government bodies propelled the segment to grow by 25.2% YoY, while fulfillment of the Gujrat education order helped the education segment grow by 65.6% YoY. Premium notebooks (>US$1,000) declined by 65.8% YoY in the commercial segment and 59% YoY in the consumer segment. Significant inventory correction of Apple MacBooks and low demand from enterprises led to a slump in the shipment of premium notebooks. The online channel struggled for the second consecutive quarter, declining by 42.4% YoY in 1Q23.

Bharath Shenoy, Senior Market Analyst, IDC India, said, “Channel partners across tiers for almost all vendors have been carrying heavy inventory for the last two quarters. Hence, shipments in the consumer segment decreased significantly in 1Q23 as they focused on clearing off aging inventory. The consumer market is expected to gradually recover from June-July with the back-to-college demand and followed by aggressive online sales expected during the festive months in Q3/Q4.”

Top 5 Company Highlights: Q123

HP Inc. led the market with a share of 33.8% in 1Q23 with a strong showing in both the consumer and commercial segments. While some government and education orders helped its commercial segment clock a share of 34.7%, strong demand in offline channels helped its consumer segment, as it held a share of 32.6% there. Despite good shipments, the vendor declined by 30.2% YoY as demand for PCs dropped across segments.

Lenovo was second with a share of 15.7% despite witnessing a decline of 37.5% YoY. While it was second in the consumer segment with a share of 14.2%, it was marginally behind Dell in the commercial segment as it held third place with a share of 16.8%. The vendor struggled in the government segment even though this quarter was driven by government orders.

Dell came third with a share of 13.9%. The vendor focused on correcting channel inventory in consumer and SME segments, leading to a big drop in market share. The lack of enterprise orders also impacted the company’s performance as the enterprise segment has traditionally been Dell’s forte.

Acer Group held the fourth position with a share of 12.3%. Despite the negative sentiment in the market, Acer was one of the vendors which fared better. It did extremely well in the government and education segments, which gave it a share of 16.7% in the commercial segment, marginally behind Dell and Lenovo.

ASUS held the fifth position in 1Q23 with a share of 6.6%. The vendor continued to do well in the consumer segment, and it held second position in consumer notebook category, ahead of Lenovo and Dell, with a share of 17.9%.

Commenting on the outlook, Navkendar Singh, Associate Vice President, Devices Research, IDC India, South Asia & ANZ said, “PC demand has been sluggish over the last couple of quarters. While SMEs are delaying procurement due to the credit crunch, enterprises are reducing or delaying procurement out of recession fears. The PC market in India is expected to stay sluggish for a few more months and start recovering from late 4Q23 onwards.”

Vickram Bedi, Senior Director (Personal Systems) HP India, said, “We sincerely thank our customers and partners for their unwavering trust in HP, which has allowed us to maintain our leadership in India’s PC market. We take immense pride in equipping our customers with the tools they need to stay digitally connected, whether for work, learning, leisure, or entertainment. Given our leadership across both consumer and commercial segments, it brings us great satisfaction to be able to provide this support when they need it the most. With the shift towards hybrid work, PCs have become essential tools for staying connected and productive. As the dependence on PCs continues to grow, we at HP remain committed to focusing on consistent, insights-based innovation and developing products that deliver the best-in-class experience for users across all segments.”