WFH, e-learning drive PC demand uptick

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WFH
WFH, e-learning drive PC demand uptick

Overall, PC shipments increased by 9.2% from the previous year in the three-month timeframe ended 30 September to 3.4 million units, according to the new PC report issued by the Multinational Data Corp on Tuesday.

India’s PC industry had its best quarterly results in seven years during the September quarter as home-based and online education in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic boosted demand for laptops, desktops and workstations.

Overall, PC shipments rose by 9.2% from the previous year in the three-month timeframe ended 30 September to 3.4 million units, according to the new PC study issued by the International Data Corp. (IDC) on Tuesday.

Most of the request came from the consumer segment, which also had the best-ever quarter of 2 million shipments, rising 41.7% from the previous year and 167.2% sequentially. Demand stayed lean in the business segment due to a lack of major government and education programmes.

Overall shipments in the business sector rose 3.1 per cent from the previous year, while notebooks expanded at a healthy 70.1 per cent year-on-year, reflecting an increasing preference between businesses for laptops over desktops.

“Anticipating longer work from home options, companies are getting ready for a greater mobile workforce and reducing their dependence on desktops. SMBs (small and medium-sized enterprises) have also begun to exhibit more momentum and will be critical in sustaining sustained growth in the commercial market, “said Jaipal Singh, associate research manager, Client Devices, IDC India.

HP stayed in the top spot with a market share of 28.2 per cent, with solid increases in both the residential and commercial segments. HP’s shipments rose by 16.6 per cent from the previous year in the September quarter.

Chinese PC brands have also remained untouched by the weak sales of their peers in the smartphone sector following anti-China feelings and geopolitical uncertainties between India and China.

Sales of Lenovo rose by 27 per cent from the previous year, as the firm placed second among PC brands with a market share of 21,7 per cent, slightly ahead of Dell, which had a market share of 21,3 per cent in the second quarter. Also, new entrants, such as China’s Xiaomi, have benefited from the high demand of the market, although they do have to face some threat to existing brands. Apple device shipments increased by 19.4 per cent from the previous year in the September quarter, India’s best-ever quarter.