Festive demand, AI boom drive India’s third-quarter PC sales

• Next-generation AI notebooks break new ground, crosses the 100,000-unit threshold in a single quarter for the first time.
• AI-enabled notebooks steal the spotlight, with shipments skyrocketing by 126.5% year on year.
• HP retains market leadership with a 26.6% overall share, followed by Lenovo with 18% and Acer with 15%.

India’s traditional PC market soared to new heights in third quarter of 2025, achieving its highest-ever quarterly shipments at 4.9 million units—a robust 10.1 per cent year-over-year (YoY) increase, according to IDC data.

The surge surpasses the previous Q3 record of 4.5 million units set just last year, signaling sustained momentum in both commercial and consumer demand.

The premium notebook category (priced above $1,000) posted an 8.5 per cent YoY growth, propelled by keen interest from both enterprise buyers and tech-savvy consumers. Notably, AI-enabled notebooks stole the spotlight, with shipments skyrocketing by 126.5 per cent YoY.

Basic AI notebooks, leveraging hardware-based AI features, accounted for nearly 86 per cent of all AI notebook shipments—buoyed by aggressive discounts and attractive cashback offers. Meanwhile, next-generation AI notebooks each broke new ground, crossing the 100,000-unit threshold in a single quarter for the first time.

Double-digit growth

Growth was robust across the board. The commercial segment expanded 11.4 per cent YoY, as ongoing enterprise refresh cycles and heightened demand from small and medium businesses (SMBs)—up 18.8 per cent and 13.1 per cent YoY, respectively—propelled the sector.

The consumer market reached a new benchmark, with shipments peaking at 2.8 million units, underscoring aggressive pre-festive stocking by leading vendors.

The e-tail channel excelled, making its best quarterly showing to date with 997,000 units shipped. “Consumer buying patterns have shifted, with many delaying purchases after the back-to-school season to take advantage of deep discounts during e-tail festivals. This prompted vendors to scale back Q2 shipments and build up inventory for Q3’s sales bonanza,” said Bharath Shenoy, research manager at IDC India & South Asia.

HP maintains lead

• HP Inc. retained market leadership with a 26.6 per cent overall share, dominating the commercial segment at 34.6 per cent. However, the company saw a 10.4 per cent YoY dip in its consumer segment, attributed to heightened competition and a slow transition to its new OmniBook series.
• Lenovo held the second spot with an 18 per cent market share as its consumer business rose 14.3 per cent YoY, powered by festive discounts and strong performance in the small office segment (+46.9 per cent YoY).
• Acer Group placed third with a 15 per cent share, excelling in the commercial desktop category (33.1 per cent share) thanks to robust government and enterprise demand.
• Dell Technologies secured the fourth position at 14.6 per cent, demonstrating improvement in both consumer (10.3 per cent share) and commercial segments.
• Asus rounded out the top five at 10.2 per cent, recording its best-ever commercial quarter, particularly in the SMB segment.

Positive outlook

Despite several strong quarters, analysts remain optimistic about ongoing enterprise refresh cycles and government-led digital initiatives.

“Windows refresh orders are expected to remain healthy, but aggressive channel inventory pushes could prompt corrections in the SMB sector, and global processor supply constraints could lead to minor shipment delays,” noted Navkendar Singh, associate vice president, IDC India, South Asia & ANZ.

Short-term adjustments are anticipated on the consumer front due to elevated inventory levels. Nonetheless, demand for notebooks remains resilient and is expected to stay robust into the first half of 2026.