IDC Report: Indian PC Market Witnessed Record 44.5 Percent Growth In 2021

Last Updated on February 24, 2022 by Anu Joy

The Indian PC market is reported to have delivered an impressive shipment growth of 44.5 percent year-over-year (YoY) in 2021. Marketing analyst International Data Corporation (IDC) notes that the notebook category contributed greatly to this growth, with 11.6 million units shipped last year alone. The desktop category was a bit behind, however, it managed a 30 percent YoY growth despite a steep slump in sales in 2020. The analyst credits high demands from enterprises and consumers for the rapid growth.

Remote Work Driving PC Sales

In the fourth quarter of 2021 alone (October to December), more than 4 million PCs were shipped in India. The report attributes the growth to the increasing demands of remote work.

Bharath Shenoy, Senior Market Analyst of PC Devices for IDC India, noted that the demand for computing devices grew as schools and colleges continued to operate remotely. Many students who would previously rely on smartphones and tablets appear to have switched to PCs as they offer bigger screens and better functionality.

Shenoy added:

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.

PC Market Leaders in 2021

HP maintained its lead in the overall PC market in India, with a share of 31.5 percent as its shipments increased by 58.7 percent YoY last year. It shipped more than 1.3 million units in the fourth quarter of 2021, making it the biggest quarter ever for the company.

Dell Technologies assumed second place, securing a 23.6 percent share and showing 47 percent YoY growth during the same period. Dell led the enterprise segment with a 38 percent share, owing to a rising demand from Indian IT/ITES customers as well as its global accounts.

PC Market Forecast for 2022

Navkendar Singh, Research Director at IDC India, expects PC demand to plateau in 2022. Singh notes that “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”.

Supplies may start improving in the second half of the year, opening up the PC space for newer vendors in the consumer segment.