India’s traditional PC market ships 3.07 million units in Q1 2024; up 2.6 percent YoY

According to recent data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, India’s traditional PC market (inclusive of desktops, notebooks, and workstations) shipped 3.07 million units in 1Q2024, up 2.6% year-over-year (YoY).

The desktop and workstation categories grew by 10.1 percent YoY and 2.7 percent YoY, respectively, and notebooks declined by 1.7 percent YoY. Even with reduced demand for notebooks, premium notebooks (>US$1,000) grew by a healthy 21 percent YoY.

In 1Q2024, the consumer segment grew by 4.4% YoY due to low volumes in 1Q23 and some demand coming from e-tail channels during Republic Day sales in January. The commercial segment grew by 1.3% YoY on the back of 56.9% YoY growth in the government segment despite a decline in enterprise orders.

“The consumer segment had a third consecutive quarter of YoY growth. However, the demand softened from the high double-digit growth in the previous two quarters to under 5% growth. Vendors focused on clearing inventory, while a few vendors faced shipment delays leading to lower than expected sell-in,” said Bharath Shenoy, Research Manager, IDC India & South Asia.

Top 5 Company Highlights: 1Q24

HP Inc. led the market with a share of 30.1% in 1Q24 as it topped the charts in both commercial and consumer segments with shares of 32.4% and 26.9% respectively. HP continued to lead in both desktop and notebook categories with 28.9% and 30.4% shares respectively. However, its shipments declined by 8.8% YoY due to reduced enterprise orders and consumer shipment delays.

Dell Technologies was a distant second to HP Inc. with a share of 17.5% in 1Q2024. It, however, fared well in both commercial and consumer segments with a growth of 32.1% YoY and 20.7% YoY respectively. Dell had one of its best quarters in the commercial desktop category shipping 155k units, up 54% YoY, helped by government orders.

Acer Group stood third with a share of 15.4%. It did well in the commercial segment in both desktop and notebook categories, growing by 19.9% YoY and 32.0% YoY, respectively. Its consumer segment grew by 51.7% YoY, driven by good momentum in e-tail channels.

Lenovo stood fourth with a share of 15.1% and a decline of 1.3% YoY in 1Q2024. While it was second behind HP in the consumer segment with a share of 13.5%, it stood fourth in the commercial segment with a share of 16.3%. The vendor struggled in the government segment but fared well in the SMB segment, second behind HP with a share of 22%, growing by 9.4% YoY.

Asus held fifth position with a 5.9% share and a YoY decline of 8.3%. It stood second in the consumer notebook category ahead of Lenovo, with a share of 16.5%. The vendor focused on inventory correction in 1Q2024.

Commenting on the outlook, Navkendar Singh, Associate Vice President, Devices Research, IDC Asia/Pacific, said, “The PC Market in India is facing challenges in the commercial segment due to reduced PC procurement from the IT/ITES sector and global accounts which traditionally drive significant volumes. The market is expected to start recovering by the end of 2024 with refresh buying from the enterprise segment. The vendors have also fast-tracked the local assembly of commercial notebooks, which will help in reducing the imports in the next few quarters.”