The market for PCs in APACxJ was up 8% QoQ in Q3, but down 5% YoY according to IDC. Total shipments equalled 26.6 million units – higher than the firm’s original forecasts.
Consumer shipments were higher than expected in the region’s two largest markets: China and India. Retail walk-in purchases were high in India following the country’s elections, while in China vendors pushed volumes despite poor sell-out. The ASEAN countries experienced mixed results: Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand declined in double-digits, but other countries such as Vietnam performed well.
Commercial PC spending earlier in the year was boosted by XP renewals. In recent quarters, Microsoft’s ‘Windows 8.1 with Bing’ programme has added “a lot” to the entry-level segment, helping consumers to purchase PCs with a licensed OS in many countries, said IDC’s Handoko Andi.
The top spot in APACxJ was held by Lenovo, with high double-digit growth QoQ in most markets. Dell retained second place with strong entry-level growth in key emerging markets, such as India and Vietnam. Asus approached domestic rival Acer; both saw good performance in markets such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan with entry-level notebooks.
