New Delhi The shift towards remote working is starting to fade as the pandemic fueled massive demand for PCs and laptops over the past two years.
Analysts and IT industry experts expect sales to decline further due to a fall in consumer demand driven by inflationary pressures. This, in turn, will force brands to cut consumer laptop prices and offer discounts or bundle offers for commercial deals.
“PC refresh happens in cycles. We have crossed the highest cycle which was during Covid-19. That kind of development cycle will not happen again. “The double-digit decline will continue for the next 2-3 quarters,” said Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research.
PC shipments in India fell 11.7% in the September quarter, the first decline after eight consecutive quarters of growth, according to data released by research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) in November. Navkendar Singh, Associate Vice President (Device Research), IDC, said that brands will have to cut prices to clear their stock.
“Businesses are also holding back some spending,” said Ranjit Atwal, senior director analyst at Gartner. Enterprises and businesses buying employees laptops for hybrid or remote work was one of the main drivers for the market over the last eight quarters.
Certainly, experts believe that the business-to-business (B2B) segment will see a return to growth towards the end of the year. “You see a lot of B2B type bundling offers like back to school or work. PC positioning will change and be more B2B oriented. Pathak said the consumer segment will remain under pressure as we are beyond that Covid-induced demand curve.
“The growth level of 2020-21 is not sustainable. Though shipments will continue to decline, it will not go back to pre-pandemic lows,” Singh said.
To be sure, brands are still not giving up. Sudhir Goyal, chief business officer, Acer India, said PC penetration in India is still low compared to mobile phones. “Therefore, there is still a lot of potential for PCs to grow with segments such as gaming, government, BFSI and first-time buyers,” he added.
Counterpoint’s Pathak said premium laptops, including Apple’s MacBooks, would be spared from the slump in demand.
He also said that the market weakness will not affect India’s IT hardware manufacturing plans, which is expected to get a boost in the Union Budget.
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