India's personal computer market declined 30% in 1Q23 on weak demand

NEW DELHI: India's traditional personal computers market, including desktops, notebooks, and workstations, continued to drop as only 2.99 million units are being shipped, a decline of 30.1 per cent year-on-year in the January-March 2023 quarter, according to data released by the International Data Corporation (IDC). International Data Corporation (IDC) is a global market intelligence and advisory services provider.

During the quarter, while the demand for desktops was positive, the notebook category witnessed another weak quarter as it declined by 40.8 per cent YoY.

The consumer segment declined by 36.1 per cent YoY primarily due to slowing demand and weak market sentiment, and the commercial segment declined by 25.1 per cent YoY due to reduced or delayed procurement by enterprises.

“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 ageing 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,” said Bharath Shenoy, Senior Market Analyst, IDC India.

The personal computer market in India is expected to stay sluggish for a few more months and start recovering late in the fourth quarter of 2023.

“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,” said Navkendar Singh, Associate Vice President, of Devices Research, IDC India, South Asia and ANZ.