India ships over 4 million PCs for third straight quarter, says report

India shipped over 4.3 million personal computers (PCs) including desktops, laptops, and workstations in the first quarter of 2022 at a growth rate of 37.7% year-on-year (YoY), according to IDC's quarterly report, published on May 19. Notebooks accounted for 3.1 million of the total PC shipments.

IDC report claims that this is the third consecutive quarter in which India shipped over four million units per quarter. IDC attributes the recurring growth to strong demand for PCs from across segments to support remote learning and working.

Demand for PCs from enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) grew at 47.2% and 31.7% YoY, respectively, while the consumer segment grew at 27.9%.

Navkendar Singh, research director, Client Devices at IDC India points out, both the consumer and commercial segments are growing, while channel inventory is getting back to pre-pandemic levels. "With enterprises opening up and heavy recruiting happening across many sectors, the enterprise segment is expected to stay upbeat in coming quarters," he added. 

Though many people bought new laptops online, with the relaxation of Covid restrictions in India, the offline PC market is reviving again.

During the first quarter, online channels grew at 17.5% YoY, whereas offline channels grew by 41.4%, as per IDC.

"The relaxation of Covid-19 related restrictions led to a surge in retail footfall as an increased number of people started buying PCs from offline stores, thereby leading to a strong consumer quarter,” said Bharath Shenoy, senior market analyst, PC Devices at IDC India. 

According to IDC, many vendors planned their stock in advance keeping the ongoing supply constraints in China due to the resurgence of Covid-19 cases. In the first quarter, China had to shut down Shenzhen, one of its main manufacturing hubs. 

In terms of market share, HP was the top vendor accounting for over 1.4 million units, which was 33.8% of the PC market in the first quarter. 

Dell (19.4%), Lenovo (17.6%), Acer (9.8%), and Asus (6.2%) were the other brands in the top five during the quarter.