PC shipments in India grew by a solid 34% year on year in Q3 2021 to a record 5.3 million units as per Canalys latest data. These comprised 0.6 million desktops, 3.5 million notebooks and 1.2 million tablets, with all categories growing strongly. Notebook shipments were up by a record 31% year on year, tablets by a massive 41% and desktops by 29%.
Growth was aided by overall optimism and accelerated economic recovery in India, especially among SMBs and larger enterprises.
“Despite supply chain challenges, India’s PC market reported its highest shipments ever,” said Canalys Research Analyst Ashweej Aithal. “Vendors have finally prioritized markets outside of North America and Western Europe, focusing more on Asia and Latin America, leading to higher shipments than normal. While the seasonal rise in consumer demand has boosted shipments in consumer channels, a ramp up in enterprise and SMB procurement has ensured strong growth in all segments.”
The pandemic has brought about longer-term changes in the market, especially in education. “Uncertainty about the pandemic is forcing educational establishments to sustain their hybrid learning models and remain agile in the event of a future lockdown,” said Aithal. “Tablet and notebook demand is expected to remain high, as government and education tenders remain solid. At an individual level, however, demand will remain unsatiated. To ensure that every child whose education has been disrupted due to the pandemic gains access to a computer is an ambitious goal but one that must be fulfilled. If not, we risk the future of our workforce.”
Vendor performances
Lenovo pipped HP to first place in the overall PC market (including tablets) for the first time since Q4 2020. This was solely due to its performance in tablets. Lenovo shipped close to 600,000 tablets in Q3 2021, growing over twice as much as its closest competitor Samsung. While it still has some way to go to overtake HP in notebooks, Lenovo is in a strong position due to its multi-segment portfolio catering to a range of product categories. In the short term, Lenovo’s local production has helped it win back some of the lost orders with governments across the country. In the longer term, Lenovo’s focus on exporting devices from India will only play to its benefit, as production-linked incentives (PLIs) buy it much needed favor and support.
HP finished in second place overall (tablets included) but maintained its lead in India’s desktop and notebook market in Q3 2021. The US-based vendor shipped around 1 million notebooks this quarter, making it the biggest quarter ever for HP notebooks. HP has an inherent advantage in India, where retail channels cater not only to consumers but also support multiple SMBs and large businesses across the country, especially in tier-two and tier-three cities. HP’s dominance in offline retail, including its focus on cost-conscious options for customers will continue to give it an edge over Lenovo and even Dell.
Dell came in third with annual growth of 44%, mainly driven by notebooks, which grew 50% year on year. Dell’s stronghold in the commercial segment continued with its 32% growth in this segment. This quarter, however, the vendor also saw strong growth in the consumer segment, where its shipments grew 67% annually.
Acer jumped to fourth place as its shipments grew by 96% year on year, mainly due to the spike in consumer demand for notebooks. Acer’s notebook shipments have almost doubled year on year to 229,000. The success was not limited to notebooks, as Acer also grew its desktop business by close to 100%. The vendor has ramped up local manufacturing of its desktops to ensure it meets government order criteria, whereby to participate in a tender, a vendor must ensure that over 50% of its devices for that particular deal are manufactured in India.
Asus finished fifth, growing its shipments by 41% year on year. The vendor shipped 363,000 notebooks, recording its best quarter for the category. Asus continues to double down on efforts to expand its offline presence, especially in smaller towns and cities, which has enabled it to beat Acer in the desktop, notebook and workstation market.
