Commercial Overtakes Consumer Segment as India’s Tablet Market Witnesses 46% Sequential Growth in Q32017

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According to International Data Corporation's (IDC) Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, 1.1 million tablets were shipped in India in Q32017 with a healthy 46% growth from the previous quarter and a marginal 3% growth from the same period last year.

Recently launched Tablet Scheme by Gujarat government namely NAMO Tablet Scheme for the college students, was the key driver for the growth within education and government verticals which contributed to the overall commercial growth in Q32017. The shipment in the commercial segment almost tripled from the same time last year and crossed the consumer shipments for the first time in India.

After experiencing continuous decline from last three quarters, consumer shipment witnessed a sequential growth of 24% in Q32017 and the major contributor to this growth was ongoing lucrative online offers during the festive seasons.

According to Celso Gomes, Associate Market Analyst, Client Devices, IDC India, “In the current market scenario where there is rise in demand for phablets, the replacement cycle for tablets have only lengthened. What helps Tablet as a category to stay relevant is the subsidized or free tablet distribution schemes by state governments to promote use of connected devices across educational institutions. Also, key tablet vendors are aggressively pushing slates to microfinance, food services, and healthcare companies to digitalize their customer interaction points.”

Company Highlights:

Lenovo: Lenovo continues to dominate the India tablet market with 26.0% market share as its shipment grew 73.7% over the previous quarter. This was majorly attributed to the vendor's strong presence in the commercial segment, which accounted for 85% of its total shipments in Q32017. Lenovo also introduced new models in the Tab 4 series primarily targeting a wider audience with its refreshed product line.

Acer Group: Acer debuted at the second position on account of an educational project, which accounted for over 90% of its total shipments in Q32017. The vendor’s shift from consumer to commercial segment helped the vendor to increase its shipments into manifolds in the third quarter of this year.

Samsung: Samsung slipped to third place as its shipments grew with a marginal 2.9% sequential growth in Q32017. However, vendor registered a healthy double-digit growth in its consumer segment and Galaxy J Max continues to be the top-selling model for the vendor.

iBall: iBall continues to lock on to fourth place as shipments witnessed an increase of 25.8% sequentially in Q3 2017. Pre-Diwali sales helped the vendor to register a healthy 45% sequential growth in its consumer segment. In addition, the vendor also made a comeback in the US$300-US$350 with the launch of its Windows-based detachable tablet in the month of September.

Datawind: Datawind further drops to the fifth position as its market share dropped by five percentage points and shipments grew marginally by 1.6% from the previous quarter. Datawind’s limited focus on commercial segment and longer refresh cycle are making it difficult for the vendor to make a comeback in the saturated consumer market.

IDC India Forecast:

“Phablets are replacing most of the use cases of an entry-level tablet and becoming more popular amongst the new tech startups for their service delivery, taking a pie from tablet commercial market. Despite vendors efforts on bundling the apps and content, the consumer demand remains sluggish,” says Jaipal Singh, Sr. Market Analyst, IDC India. “In the absence of any big commercial engagement, the shipments are expected to fall significantly in the next quarter” added Singh.

About IDC Trackers

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About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and Events Company.