The traditional PC market in India, encompassing desktops, notebooks, and workstations, experienced significant growth in the third quarter of 2023 (3Q23), reaching 4.5 million units. This marked the largest quarter to date, with a 14% year-over-year (YoY) increase in shipments. The notebook category grew by 13.1% YoY, while the desktop category saw a substantial growth of 19.3%. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, while the commercial segment remained steady, the consumer segment exhibited robust growth of 26.3% YoY.
The surge in the education segment, driven by the implementation of the Gujarat education project, contributed to a remarkable growth of 117.5% YoY. Additionally, the e-commerce channel’s resurgence, with a 26.4% YoY increase after four consecutive declines, was attributed to preparations for festival sales by e-tailers.
Bharath Shenoy, senior research analyst at IDC India, highlighted the impact of the Government of India’s initial announcement of a mandatory requirement for import licenses for PCs starting October 30th. Although this decision was later postponed, it prompted vendors to expedite shipments to mitigate potential supply shortages or price hikes, ensuring ample supplies for the upcoming festival season sales.
Key Highlights of the Top 5 Companies:
– HP secured the top position in the market with a 29.4% share, leading in both the commercial and consumer segments with shares of 34.3% and 25.9% respectively. The vendor experienced a strong growth of 33.5% YoY in the commercial segment, driven by traction in the education and government sectors.
– Lenovo claimed the second position with a 17% share, despite an 8.8% YoY decline in shipments. However, it demonstrated substantial growth of 32.5% YoY in the desktop category during 3Q23.
– Dell Technologies occupied the third spot with a 14.6% share and a modest YoY growth of 3.8%. Although slightly behind Lenovo in the commercial segment, it saw a remarkable 68.5% YoY growth in the consumer segment.
– Asus ascended to the fourth position with a 12.5% share, achieving its most successful consumer quarter to date by shipping over 500,000 units for the first time. The company recorded an impressive 42.9% YoY growth in the consumer segment and a substantial 69.9% YoY growth in the commercial segment.
– Acer slipped to the fifth position with an 11.6% share, despite a strong YoY growth of 20.9%. While its commercial segment witnessed a 6.7% YoY decline, the consumer segment experienced substantial growth of 75.7% YoY.
Navkendar Singh, associate vice president of Devices Research at IDC India, South Asia & ANZ, emphasized the considerable push in the consumer and SME segments in recent months. Vendors are now prioritizing the increase of locally assembled devices, anticipating a preference for such devices in government and education projects. This shift is projected to further boost the government and education segments, while the enterprise segment is expected to decline by over 20% YoY in 2023.
Unique Perspective:
India’s PC market has witnessed a remarkable surge in the third quarter of 2023, driven by strong consumer demand, government initiatives, and the resurgence of the e-commerce channel. The shift towards locally assembled devices reflects a strategic adaptation to evolving preferences, signaling promising opportunities for domestic manufacturing and potential policy impacts on the PC market.
