PC Shipments in India Rise 23.6 Percent in Q2, Forecast Positive: IDC

The PC market in India grew significantly in Q2 2014 due to an improvement in the consumer PC segment, market research firm IDC said on Wednesday. The firm quoted figures from its report titled "Asia Pacific Quarterly PC Tracker, August 2014" and said that HP is the market leader in the PC market in India.

According to IDC, PC shipments in India in Q2 2014 stood at 2.55 million units, and showed a substantial quarter-on-quarter growth of 23.6 percent. However, the annual trend isn't so positive. There was a 27.8 percent decline in PC shipments in India when compared with Q2 2013 figures.

The overall growth in PC shipments in India was attributed by IDC to a clear mandate in the Lok Sabha polls. The IDC said the market remained upbeat, buoyed by business purchases, as well as "channel intake of low priced PCs at the end of the quarter". The commercial PC business contributed to this with 34.5 percent growth quarter-on-quarter and a total of 1.38 million units shipped. The consumer PC segment grew 12.8 percent quarter-on-quarter and shipped 1.16 million units.

"The overall sentiments have picked up and IDC observes improved discretionary spending from consumers across devices. It is expected to have a positive influence on the market as we enter the festival season starting Onam," said Manish Yadav, Market Analyst, Client Devices, IDC India.

IDC said HP's PC shipments rose by 82.1 percent in Q2 2014, cementing its position as market leader with a share of 29.5 percent. The IDC report attributed this growth to deals with the state and price competitiveness. "Their (HP's) execution of large education deals in the state government of Tamil Nadu ensured the growth in commercial business. Price competitiveness and well spread partner coverage across the country has been HP's key strength," IDC said.

The market research firm said Dell and Lenovo were the second and third largest players respectively in the Indian PC market in Q2 2014. It said Dell's market share is 19.1 percent and Lenovo had 13.9 percent.

IDC's outlook on the PC market was positive overall. It said the market will "recuperate in due course of time". Kiran Kumar, Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India, said, "IDC anticipates increase in consumer spending both as a result of seasonality owing to festive buying and cautious end user spending on high-end smartphones. This indeed was driving away wallet share in the recent past."