The India traditional PC market (inclusive of desktops, notebooks, and workstations) continued to be robust as the shipments grew by 50.5 per cent year-over-year (YoY) in 2Q21 (Apr-Jun), according to new data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker.

A total of 3.2 million PCs were shipped in the quarter, with all product categories reporting strong double-digit growth. In the absence of any large education and government deal, this was the second consecutive quarter when India’s PC market saw shipments of over 3 million PCs, underlining the growth in the enterprise, SMB, and consumer segments.

Notebook PCs continue to hold more than three-fourth share in the overall category and grew 49.9 per cent YoY in 2Q21, reporting a fourth consecutive quarter with over 2 million units. Desktops also indicated a recovery as shipments grew 52.3 per cent YoY after recording the lowest shipments of the decade in 2Q20.

The second wave of COVID-19 further delayed the opening of schools and colleges, strengthening the demand for PCs for home learning. In 2Q21, the consumer segment grew 118.4 per cent YoY, and 5.9 per cent sequentially as vendors prepared the channel in anticipation of stronger demand. The commercial segment grew 13.8 per cent YoY in 2Q21 as the enterprises, especially the IT and IT-enabled services companies, continued buying to manage the growing workforce in the ongoing work from home scenario.

The demand from SMBs also supported the growth of the commercial segment as it grew 61.2 per cent from the same time a year ago.

“Despite the country being severely impacted by the second wave of COVID-19, there was a sense of optimism in the market as vendors utilised the time to procure devices to assure channel availability from their end,” said Bharath Shenoy, Market Analyst, PC Devices, IDC India. He further added, “Channel partners were struggling with low inventories and backlogs for almost a year; this came as a breather for a few vendors as they were able to add a few more weeks’ inventories to their channel. However, as demand continues to outstrip the supply, it doesn’t seem that the channel inventory will return to normal before the year-end.”

Top 5 Company Highlights:

• HP Inc. reported second quarter in a row with over a million shipments. It maintained its lead in the India PC market with a 33.6 per cent share as its shipments grew 54.2 per cent annually. HP shipped over half a million notebooks in the consumer segment, registering the highest shipments in the consumer notebook segment in a quarter by any vendor in India. Better allocation to the country and timely supplies helped the vendor to further widen its lead in the PC category.
• Dell Technologies continued to hold the second position with a 22.1 per cent share and impressive 86.1 per cent YoY growth in 2Q21. In the commercial segment, with a share of 29.6 per cent, it placed close behind HP in the second position. Also, it retained its third position in the consumer segment as its shipments grew 161.9 per cent YoY in 2Q21.
• Lenovo maintained the third position with a share of 17.8 per cent in 2Q21. However, it did witness a marginal decline in its overall shipments due to the delayed supplies in the country. Nevertheless, it retained its second position in the consumer segment as its shipments saw a 28.8 per cent yearly growth in 2Q21.
• Acer Group retained the fourth position with an 8.7 per cent market share in 2Q21. The vendor witnessed a YoY growth of 31.6 per cent, primarily driven by strong performance in the consumer notebook segment as its shipments almost tripled from the same time a year ago. Acer also shared the leading position in the commercial desktop category with HP, with a share of 24.6 per cent in 2Q21.
• Apple tied with ASUS in the fifth position for the second quarter in a row. It continued its strong performance and managed to ship more than 100 thousand units for the fourth quarter in succession.
• ASUS shipments grew 39.8 per cent YoY in 2Q21 as it observed positive traction in both consumer and commercial segments. The vendor returned to the fourth position in the consumer segment with a share of 8.9 per cent in this quarter and registered 37.5 per cent growth from the same quarter a year ago.

Jaipal Singh research manager client devices at IDC India said the tremendous growth in India’s consumer notebook segment is attracting many smartphone brands to explore this category. The country offers huge potential for all brands to grow if they timely address the demand, which is slowly shifting to entry-level price points.

However, the current supply situation may restrict the growth opportunities in the short term, but this is a great window of opportunity to enter India’s consumer notebook market.

“New brands also need to be considerate about the challenges that PC vendors faced in the past in terms of affordability, connectivity, and usability and their devices portfolio should be aligned to these challenges if they are eying a significant share in this market,” he further added.

India’s smartphone market started 2Q21 (April-June) on a low note amidst the second wave of COVID-19 but quickly recovered towards the end of the quarter, witnessing 86 per cent year-over-year (YoY) growth to reach 34 million units.

The second wave of COVID-19 hit the country almost a year after the first wave but varied significantly in terms of market response. Infections spread much faster even in rural areas and had a higher mortality rate, but there was a lesser impact on manufacturing and logistics, while the lockdown was not as strict as the year before. As a result, state-led lockdowns resulted in a few pockets recovering faster in the second quarter, generating pent-up demand in June’21.

“While 2021 is expected to see single-digit growth, 2H21 is likely to drop in comparison to the same period last year, with lower demand, uncertainties around the third wave, persistent supply constraints, and rising component prices along with intensifying inflationary rates. Nevertheless, a rebound in 2022 will be possible with upgraders in the low-mid price segments, supply-led push of 5G devices, feature phone migration with new offerings expected in upcoming months (as announced by Reliance Jio), and better supplies to market,” said Navkendar Singh research director, client devices and IPDS and IDC India.

The key market trends for 2Q21 included:

• Accelerated growth of the online channel, led by eTailers, resulted in a record share of 51 per cent with a massive 113 per cent YoY growth. On the flip side, the offline channel was impacted by weekend curfews in many areas and partially opened markets (with odd/even schemes) through May and mid-June.
• MediaTek-based smartphones continued to lead with a share of 64 per cent in sub-US$200, while Qualcomm dominated the space in the US$200-500 segment with a 71 per cent share.
• India stood at fourth position, following PRC, USA, and Japan, in terms of 5G shipments of 5 million with the lowest ASP at US$410. Though the government is yet to roll out the spectrum, IDC expects an inflow of more affordable 5G devices by end-2021 at sub-US$200.
• Overall ASPs surged to a high of US$184, growing by 15 per cent YoY. Price hikes and an ongoing shift to 5G in upcoming quarters drives ASPs to peak in 2021/2022.

Top 5 smartphone vendor highlights:

• Xiaomi led with an impressive 84 per cent YoY growth. POCO, Xiaomi’s sub-brand, emerged as the fastest-growing brand nationally, despite a smaller model portfolio and being exclusive to Flipkart. Xiaomi commanded a 40 per cent online market share with almost 70 per cent of its shipments in online channels. Also, Xiaomi surpassed Samsung for the third slot in the offline channels with an 18 per cent market share.
• Samsung was second, registering the lowest YoY growth amongst the top 10 vendors at 15 per cent in 2Q21. The vendor faced severe supply shortages. Its offline channel remained muted with a 4 per cent decline, but its online shipments grew by 46 per cent YoY, accounting for 49 per cent of its total shipments.
• vivo came at the third position, with 57 per cent YoY growth. Though it continued to remain offline-heavy, it had new launches under the iQOO series, which were online-led. With 64 per cent growth in the offline channel, vivo continued to command a majority share with its affordable Y series.
• realme surpassed OPPO for the fourth slot with shipment growth of 175 per cent YoY in 2Q21. It also overtook Samsung for the second slot within the online space with a 19 per cent share, offering affordable 4G/5G models. Amongst the top 5 vendors, realme had the highest 5G contribution and led the space with a 23 per cent share in 2Q21.
• OPPO slipped to the fifth slot, but with shipment growth of 123 per cent YoY in 2Q21. 17 per cent of OPPO shipments were 5G, claiming third place in the 5G market after realme and OnePlus. It also surpassed Samsung for the second slot in offline channels at a 20 per cent market share.