India PC Market Declined 6.6% YoY in 2023 to 13.9 Million Units

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The India Traditional PC market (inclusive of desktops, notebooks, and workstations) shipped 13.9 million units in 2023, down 6.6% year-over-year (YoY) according to new data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. The desktop category grew by 6.7% YoY, notebooks and workstations declined by 11.1% YoY and 14% YoY respectively. The total market rebounded in 2H23 with 12.9% YoY growth after a weak first half. 4Q23 grew 11.4% YoY as both desktops and notebooks grew by 16.8% YoY and 9.9% YoY respectively.

In 2023, the consumer segment declined by 3.1% YoY and the commercial segment declined by 9.7% YoY due to reduced demand from enterprises. However, the education and government segments were strong in 2023, growing by 80.5% and 18% respectively. Both the consumer and commercial segments fared much better in 4Q23, growing YoY by 19.3% and 5.3% respectively.

“Low market sentiments after the pandemic led to reduced consumer demand, resulting in a steep shipment correction in the second half of 2022 and the first half of 2023. However, the decision on import regulations, improving market sentiment, and an aggressive push from vendors ensured a market recovery in the second half of 2023. Despite a minor decline last year, the market was way ahead of pre-COVID shipments, which underscores the stability in consumer segment,” says Bharath Shenoy, Senior Research Analyst, IDC India.

Top 5 Company Highlights: 2023

• HP Inc. led the market with a share of 31.5% in 2023 as it topped the charts in both the commercial and consumer segments with shares of 33.6% and 29.4% respectively. HP continued to lead both the desktop and notebook categories with 25.1% and 33.8% shares each. Growing demand in the education and government segments helped the vendor in the commercial segment while good momentum during festival sales helped the vendor in the consumer segment. The vendor’s market share dropped in 3Q23 in the consumer segment; but it managed to gain it back in 4Q23 to a strong 32.5%. The vendor held a share of 32.6% in the total market in 4Q23.
• Lenovo was a distant second behind HP with a share of 16.7% in 2023. The vendor, however, witnessed a 17.8% YoY decline in shipments primarily due to a slowdown in the SMB segment and its minimal presence in the government and education space. It also lost share in the consumer segment as competition intensified during festive season sales. The vendor managed a share of 19.6% in the enterprise segment, 1.3 percentage points more than 2022. The vendor held third position in the total 4Q23 market, behind Dell with a share of 17.5%.
• Dell Technologies stood third with a share of 15.5% as it witnessed a steep decline of 24.5% YoY in 2023. It continued to hold second position in the commercial segment with a share of 20% while it held fourth position behind Lenovo in the consumer segment with a share of 10.8%. Enterprises have traditionally been one of the key strengths for Dell, so the delays in orders there impacted Dell the most. The vendor meanwhile was ahead of Lenovo in 4Q23 and held a share of 18.3% in the total market.
• Acer Group stood in fourth position with a share of 12.3% as it grew by 16.1% YoY in 2023. While it held fourth position in the commercial segment with a share of 15.7%, it stood fifth in the consumer segment with a share of 8.7%. With strong traction in the government and education segments, the vendor led the commercial desktop category with a share of 29.6%. The vendor claimed back fourth position in 4Q23 from Asus and held a share of 14% in India PC Market.
• Asus held fifth position behind Acer with a share of 7.9% despite a YoY growth of 8.6%. The vendor held second position in the consumer segment behind HP with a share of 15.1%. Asus managed to ship more than a million units in the consumer segment for the first time ever in 2023. The vendor, however, focused on inventory correction in 4Q23 and slid to fifth position behind Acer as it managed to hold a meagre 3.5% in the total market.

Commenting on the outlook, Navkendar Singh, Associate Vice President, Devices Research, IDC India, South Asia & ANZ said, “In 2023, India’s PC market struggled in both the consumer and commercial segments due to high channel inventory, slowing demand, and pessimism in the market. With elections coming up in 2Q24, the commercial segment will be slow as deals/projects, especially in the public sector, will be delayed. However, an increased focus on local assembly and the launch of AI-powered devices in second half of the year can provide a boost going into 2025.”