PC sales down 16.5% in 2014: IDC

However, the market research agency expects growth this calendar year with market sentiment being on a rise

Overall personal computer (PC) sales in India during calendar year 2014 was 9.6 million (mn) units, down 16.5 per cent from 2013. Outside special deals, the market saw a year-on-year drop of 0.4 per cent in CY14, says research data from International Data Corporation (IDC), a market research agency.

It predicts that inventory issues and constrained buying from end-users is likely to impact sales in the first quarter of calendar year 2015. However, it feels the overall PC market will grow in 2015 over 2014.

Shipments in the fourth quarter were 2.3 mn units, about 14.6 per cent less than in the earlier quarter and 13.3 per cent higher than in the same quarter of 2013.

OPTIMISTIC SECTOR: DRIVERS FOR GROWTH

• A stable govt at the Centre aided hope on reforms and economic progress, boosting overall end-user confidence  
• Introduction of sub-$400 notebooks further proved a shot in the arm and it continued to thrive in the consumer PC business, both in the desktop and notebook categories
• Special education projects and improved business sentiment in the enterprise business will continue to drive commercial PC volumes in CY15

The festive momentum, mixed with flourishing online sales, helped in that quarter, beating its own forecast substantially, says IDC. In contrast, it says, sales in the first quarter of 2014 were at a new low.

The consumer PC market was 4.9 mn units in CY14, higher by 1.7 per cent over CY13. “Consumer sentiment remained frail until the (national) elections. However, a stable government at the Centre aided hope on reforms and economic progress, boosting overall end-user confidence. Also, subsiding inflation and rapid growth of the online trade, coupled with the introduction of sub-$400 devices created just the right buzz for the business,” said Kiran Kumar, research manager.

The overall commercial PC market clocked 4.7 mn units in CY14, a year-on-year drop of 29.6 per cent.  “The primary reason was that barring the fulfilment for Elcot’s (the Tamil Nadu government's electronics company) Phase III, the contribution of large education projects was not exciting.

Also, enterprise users have been cautiously optimistic by pinning their hopes on the direction of reforms, which is still quite ambiguous.

This is with the exception of BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), where IT (information technology) spending returned to a rapid surge in CY14 for both capacity expansion and hardware refresh,” said Manish Yadav, market analyst, IDC.

The highest market share was Hewlett-Packard's (HP's), with 25.6 per cent, again taking first spot. HP remains dominant in the consumer PC business for a third year in a row, said IDC.

Introduction of sub-$400 notebooks further proved a shot in the arm and it continued to thrive in the consumer PC business, both in the desktop and notebook categories. They have equally led the commercial segment in the past two years, clinching major volumes in special projects such as those of Elcot or that of the Uttar Pradesh government’s.

Following HP was Dell, with a market share of 22.1 per cent, nine per cent higher over a year. Their investment in expanding of channel strength continued to swell. In addition, their growth in tier-2 and tier-3 cities is a welcome sign for increasing the overall PC penetration.

Special education projects and improved business sentiment in the enterprise business will continue to drive commercial PC volumes in CY15. Government and government-aided education buying will hold the key to growth in this segment.

“In the consumer business, opportunity is ripe for vendors to drive penetration and improve overall business. We expect new entry price points to be created for full-blown PCs with innovative form factors and that will continue to drive excitement in this category,” added Kumar.