Computer shipments touched nearly 1,000 personal computers (PCs) every hour
in the country in the quarter just gone by, with Q1 2008 (JFM 2008) shipments
exceeding 2.1 million as against 1.9 million PCs in the same period in the
previous year.
This took the total shipments during 2007-08 (April-March) beyond the 8.25
million mark, recording a YoY growth of 22.3 percent. Shipments in 2006-07 were
6.75 million.
The IDC study on the domestic PC market across India found shipments of
commercial PCs at 5.55 million as against 2.71 consumer PC shipments during the
year. Of the 2.03 million notebooks shipped during the year-1.34 million were
commercial notebooks.
IDC also completed an in-depth study that found that individuals were one of
the biggest buyers of 'whitebox' PCs (PCs assembled by small independent shops
rather than the larger brands available across the country). However, on the
commercial side, buyers increasingly chose major brands-both local and
multinational. Flexible configurations were a key selling point for consumers.
| India
PC shipments ('000s) by form factor, 2007-08 vs 2006-07 |
| Form factor
|
2006-07 |
2007-08 |
Change |
| Consumer desktops |
1,908 |
2,013 |
5% |
| Commercial desktops |
3,731 |
4,207 |
13% |
| Consumer notebooks |
230 |
694 |
202% |
| Commercial notebooks |
|
881 |
1,339 52% |
|
Source: IDC India |
The white box study, conducted among consumer and commercial PC buyers, was
supplemented by channels and components research. The study mapped cities across
the country. The primary objectives of the study were to gain insights into
buying decision factors, life cycles, price sensitivity, distribution channels
and different end-user segments. This report also offers PC vendors with
strategies and recommendations to grow the market in India.
With added insight into this sector of the Indian PC market, IDC has
increased its market size by adding in more white box desktops. Vendor market
shares have been reduced as a result of the market size increase, but individual
vendor shipments, growth rates, and rankings are unaffected.
Based on IDC's surveys across the Asia-Pacific region Bryan Ma,
Director-Personal Systems Research, IDC Asia-Pacific, said, “What comes to light
is that a larger market provides increased opportunity for growth, including the
consumer and SMB sectors. Vendors who are able to cater to these users' specific
needs could stand to gain.”