India PC market falls 11.7% YoY for the first time after 2 years: Report

After two years of consecutive growth fueled by remote and hybrid work, the traditional PC market in India declined by 11.7% year-on-year (YoY) in the three months ending September, according to International Data Corporation’s (IDC) latest quarterly tracker published on Thursday.

India shipped 3.9 million PCs, including desktops, notebooks, and workstations, during the quarter. The consumer segment shipped 2.1 million units and despite seeing some growth in September due to online sales, shipments during the quarter fell by 10.9% YoY.

IDC attributes the overall decline to the weakening of demand across sectors, except for government orders which grew 91.5% YoY. The overall commercial segment declined 12.5% YoY.

Notebooks which account for 70% of the total PC shipments, declined by 19.5% YoY. According to IDC, demand for notebooks has dwindled across segments, forcing vendors to prioritise clearing inventory.  

"Weakened currency is resulting in rising device costs and pricing pressure for vendors," said Bharath Shenoy, senior market analyst, IDC India.

Shenoy added that vendors delayed price hikes due to online sales in the September quarter. They might increase prices in the December quarter, which might "dampen sentiment" further.  

Demand for premium notebooks (above $1,000) in the commercial segment fell by 28.5%, as most companies are looking to cut spending due to economic uncertainty and fear of recession.

However, not all segments were affected by the downturn. IDC report shows that demand for desktops and workstations remained strong during the quarter, resulting in YoY growth of 23.4% and 17.6% respectively, as with the return to work many offices are asking employees to work full time from offices.

Demand for premium notebooks such as Apple MacBooks and Asus gaming laptops in the consumer segment also grew by 9.8% YoY.

IDC analysts predicted that the demand is likely to remain slow.

“We expect a slowdown in PC procurement from the IT/ITES sector, which is typically one of the biggest buyers. Similarly, we are witnessing some sluggishness in SME procurement as they are challenged by inflation and a credit crunch,” said Navkendar Singh, associate vice president, of devices research, IDC India, South Asia & ANZ.

Singh pointed out that the government and education sectors are seeing some orders,  which is expected to drive demand in the commercial segments in the next two quarters.