Covid-19 pandemic boosts demand for personal computers in India

The trend of work from home as a result of the pandemic has benefited the Indian personal computer (PC) market with shipments during July-September hitting 3.4 million units, the highest since 2013. This has been on account of demand for e-learning and remote working remaining strong.

According to IDC India, although the commercial segment had very few government and education projects, the consumer segment recorded its biggest quarter ever with 2 million shipments, growing 41.7% year-on-year and 167.2% from Q2 2020.

During the April-June quarter as well the demand for PCs, which includes desktops, notebooks, and workstations, had hit an all time high with companies placing large orders for employees to work from home (WFH) to ensure business continuity. The phenomenon led to a whopping 105.5% year-on-year growth in notebook shipments during Q2.

Schools and colleges continued to function virtually, leading to a surge in demand for consumer notebooks, especially in large cities. Despite supply challenges, vendors were able to stock up for the upcoming online festivals, IDC India said.

“However, the demand for notebook PCs remains much higher than the current supply, which is likely to lead to another strong quarter of shipments in Q4 2020. Apple shipments also grew 19.4% year-on-year as it ended its biggest quarter of shipments in the country,” it added.

Going ahead, IDC India market analyst (PC devices), Bharath Shenoy said, “There is still a lot of uncertainty if and when will the schools and colleges return to physical classrooms at full strength. This is forcing students to manage all their learning virtually. This demand is expected to stay strong as India remains under penetrated in PCs. To add to this, the growing broadband connectivity in the country is making online learning easier for students. Hence, this opportunity will continue to be relevant for PC vendors for at least a few more quarters”.

Anticipating a longer WFH possibility, enterprises are getting ready for a larger mobile workforce and keep reducing their dependency on desktops. Also, SMBs started showing more momentum and will be critical in sustaining the ongoing growth in the commercial segment, explained IDC India associate research manager (client devices), Jaipal Singh said.

“Unfortunately, shortages of some key components continue to be a challenge. Vendors that will be able to manage the supplies of these components will benefit from this opportunity more as there is still a lot of untapped demand for PCs in the country, he added.