• Consumer segment records its biggest quarter ever with 2m shipments.
• Demand for laptops remains much higher than the current supply, which is likely to lead to another strong quarter of shipments in the fourth quarter.
• Growing broadband connectivity will continue to be relevant for PC vendors for at least a few more quarters.

Bengaluru: The third quarter of this year became the biggest quarter in the last seven years for PC shipments in India due to the strong demand for e-learning and remote working.

The market grew 9.2 per cent year over year in the third quarter to 3.4 million units despite commercial segment having very few governments and education projects, registering a 3.1 per cent year-on-year growth in the overall enterprise segment.

The consumer segment recorded its biggest quarter ever with two million shipments, growing 41.7 per cent year on year and 167.2 per cent from the previous quarter.

Schools and colleges continued to function virtually, leading to a surge in demand for consumer notebooks, especially in large cities.

Despite the supply challenges, vendors were able to stock up for the upcoming online festivals. However, the demand for notebook PCs remains much higher than the current supply, which is likely to lead to another strong quarter of shipments in the fourth quarter.

Bharath Shenoy, market analyst for PC Devices at International Data Corporation India, said that there is still a lot of uncertainty if and when will the schools and colleges return to physical classrooms at full strength.

“The demand is expected to stay strong as India remains underpenetrated in PCs. To add to this, the growing broadband connectivity in the country is making online learning easier for students. Hence, this opportunity will continue to be relevant for PC vendors for at least a few more quarters,” he said.

Laptops steal limelight

Notebook shipments grew at a strong 70.1 year on year as enterprises preferred them over desktops.

SMBs resumed their purchases after taking a slight pause, as business operations started for most of the sectors with a relaxation in the lockdown restrictions.

Shipments to this segment grew 5.5 per cent year on year during the quarter.

However, this growth can also be attributed to channel procurement for better control over inventories amid the uncertain supply situation in the ecosystem.

Asus records strong growth

HP retained its top position with a share of 28.2 per cent in the third quarter, followed by Lenovo with 21.7 per cent share and Dell with 21.3 per cent.

Asus, ranked fifth, registered an impressive 55.4 per cent year-on-year growth in its overall PC shipments as it has been aggressive in expanding its offline presence, helping the brand to secure the fourth position in the consumer segment.

Also, this quarter the vendor officially entered the commercial segment with the launch of its Expert series.

New entrants like Xiaomi and Avita were able to leverage this opportunity but remained outside of the top five companies in the consumer segment. Apple shipments also grew 19.4 per cent year on year as it ended its biggest quarter of shipments in the country.

“Anticipating a longer work from home possibility, enterprises are getting ready for a larger mobile workforce and keep reducing their dependency on desktops. Also, SMBs started showing more momentum and will be critical in sustaining the ongoing growth in the commercial segment,” Jaipal Singh, Associate Research Manager for Client Devices at IDC India.

However, he said that shortages of some key components continue to be a challenge and vendors that will be able to manage the supplies of these components will benefit from this opportunity more as there is still a lot of untapped demand for PCs in the country.