India PC Market Shipped a Record 14.8 Million Units in 2021, According to IDC

The India traditional PC market, inclusive of desktops, notebooks, and workstations, delivered a strong year with shipment growth of 44.5% year-over-year (YoY) in 2021 (Jan-Dec), according to new data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker.

While the notebook category was the volume driver with shipments reaching 11.6 million units, the desktop category, which saw a steep decline in 2020, managed a recovery with 30% YoY growth. This can be attributed to strong demand from enterprises, SMB, and consumer segments.

The market continued to be upbeat as the vendors collectively shipped more than 4 million PCs in 4Q21 (Oct-Dec). Remote working demand coupled with better supplies were the drivers for the market. The desktop category continued its upward trajectory driven by demand in the Education and VLE segments, shipping more than 800k units for the first time in 8 quarters. Notebooks clocked over 3 million units for second quarter in succession. The commercial segment posted a sharp YoY growth of 81.4% in 4Q21, while the consumer segment witnessed a more subdued YoY growth as vendors focused on inventory correction following a very strong 3Q21 (Jul-Sep).

“As schools and colleges continued to function remotely for a second consecutive year, the demand for a computing device became extremely important for students. Some of the students who were earlier using smartphones/tablets for their virtual classes opted for a PC for obvious benefits such as bigger screen and ease of usage” said Bharath Shenoy, Senior Market Analyst, PC Devices, IDC India. Commenting on the ongoing momentum in notebook category, he adds, “The consumer segment witnessed strong growth despite facing supply disruptions across the year. While the incumbent brands managed to get better allocations and ship bigger volumes of PCs, new brands that entered Indian market in the past few years struggled to get timely supplies, thereby struggling to fully capitalize on the market opportunity.”

Top 5 Company Highlights: 2021

HP Inc. continued to lead the overall PC market with a share of 31.5% as its shipments grew by 58.7% YoY in CY2021. The vendor also led the market and had its biggest quarter ever in 4Q21 by shipping more than 1.3 million units. The vendor had a commanding share of 32.9% and 30% in the commercial and consumer segments in 2021 as they grew by 57.5% and 60.1% YoY respectively. Strong demand coupled with consistent supplies helped the brand in managing substantial growth in both segments.

Dell Technologies secured the second position with 23.6% share and 47% YoY growth in CY2021.The vendor also stood in second place behind HP in 4Q21 as it shipped more than a million units for a second consecutive quarter. While it was a close second to HP in the commercial segment with a share of 29.8% in 2021, it managed to stay ahead of Lenovo, but was a distant second in consumer segment. The vendor also led the enterprise segment with a share of 38%, driven by increased demand from Indian IT/ITES customers and its global accounts.

Lenovo continued to hold its third position behind Dell in 4Q21 as well as CY2021 with shares of 17.4% and 18.4% respectively. While the vendor managed an impressive growth of 22.8% YoY in 2021 across segments, constrained supplies impacted its overall shipments. It however did perform well in SME segment, coming in second behind HP with a share of 24.7%.

Acer Group retained the fourth position with an 8.2% market share in CY2021 while it held a share of 7.7% in 4Q21. As the desktop category made a comeback of sorts in 2021, Acer was one of the main beneficiaries due to its established commercial desktop business. The vendor was second in the commercial desktop category behind HP with a share of 25.8%.

ASUS maintained the fifth position with a share of 4.4% in 4Q21 and 5.9% in CY2021 as it grew by 36.1% YoY in 2021. While it managed a healthy growth in the consumer segment in 2021, it started making inroads in the commercial segment, growing a staggering 227.2% YoY.

Commenting on the outlook, Navkendar Singh, Research Director, Client Devices, IDC India said, “The market witnessed unprecedented demand for PCs in last two years in both the commercial and consumer segments, but demand is expected to soften in 2022. While digitalization and remote working are expected to be primary drivers for the SME and enterprise segments, component shortages, supply challenges, and increased prices might continue to impact the government and education segments negatively, leading to further delays in projects. We may also witness some traction for the newer vendors in the consumer segment as supplies start improving in the second half of the year.”

Note:

• Shipments include shipments to distribution channels or end-users. OEM sales are counted under the company/brand under which they are sold.

• Enterprise segment refers to all companies with 500 and above employees, and SMBs are referred to companies below 500 employees.

• Traditional PCs include Desktops, Notebooks, and Workstations and do not include Tablets or x86 Servers. Detachable Tablets and Slate Tablets are part of the Personal Computing Device Tracker but are not addressed in this press release.