India PC mkt grew 4.8% in 2013 but 2014 looks grim, says IDC

Amid a slack in demand due to weak economic growth, PC sales in India grew by 4.8 per cent annually last year to 11.5 million units on the back of special projects by various state governments, research firm IDC today said.
However, the market research firm projects 2014 sales to decline on account delay in public sector spending and no big announcements around education projects.
In 2013, the commercial PC segment hit a high of 6.7 million units in 2013, with a year-on-year growth of 15.8 per cent over 2012.
"However, outside special projects, demand conditions have worsened in the course of the year and sentiments remain largely subdued owing to multiple factors including the sharp devaluation of rupee, weak economic growth, slowdown in new hiring mixed with layoff fears in large enterprises," IDC market analyst Manish Yadav said in a statement.

There was a lot of uncertainty amongst investors and businesses and buying decisions were noted to be typically stretched over 2-3 quarters, he added.
"The overall consumer PC market recorded 4.8 million units, a year-on-year drop of 7.4 per cent over 2012. The soaring consumer inflation tightened up the discretionary spending for consumers," IDC Research Manager Kiran Kumar said.

Further shift in share of wallet towards smartphones and tablets have led the demand trends to be adverse, Kumar added.
For 2014, IDC expects the decline in overall PC market to be steep, primarily in the commercial PC segment.
"With general elections around the corner, the focus is expected to be on populist measure and hence, buying decisions in state-owned organisations and e-governance projects is expected to be much delayed," Yadav said.

On the consumer segment, the shift of mobile platform will continue and consumers will continue to drift towards phone and tablets, Kumar said.
HP topped the list with a share of 28.5 per cent of the India PC market in 2013, helped by execution of the largest education deal by the UP government. In consumer PC segment, it had a share of 19.5 per cent.
Dell, at the second spot, had a share of 13.2 per cent with a year-on-year growth of 5.7 per cent in volumes.
Lenovo saw strong placement in the enterprise and all-in -one desktop category. It had a market share of 12.2 per cent in 2013.

In the October-December 2013 quarter, PC shipment stood at 2.03 million, a 37 per cent over Q3 2013 and a year-on-year decline of 19 per cent over Q4 2012.