Indian PC market sales to decline steeply in 2014: IDC

Research firm IDC on Tuesday said that amid a lull in demand due to weak economic growth, PC sales in India grew by 4.8 percent annually last year to 11.5 million units on the back of special projects by various state governments.

However, the market research firm projects 2014 sales to decline on account of a delay in public sector spending, and no big announcements around education projects.

The commercial PC segment hit a high of 6.7 million units in 2013, with a year-on-year growth of 15.8 percent 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 the market report.

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 percent over 2012. The soaring consumer inflation tightened up the discretionary spending for consumers," IDC Research Manager Kiran Kumar said.

Further shift in share of the wallet towards smartphones and tablets have led the demand trends to be adverse, Kumar added.

(Also see: PC sales tumble in Asia, facing tough smartphone and tablet competition: IDC)

For 2014, IDC expects the decline in overall PC market to be steep, primarily in the commercial PC segment.

(Also see: Indian PC shipments fall 20 percent, Dell sees strong gains: Gartner)

"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 percent 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 percent. Dell, at the second spot, had a share of 13.2 percent with a year-on-year growth of 5.7 percent in volumes.

Lenovo saw strong placement in the enterprise and all-in-one desktop category. It had a market share of 12.2 percent in 2013.

(Also see: Global PC shipments fall 10 percent in 2013, Lenovo retains lead: Gartner, IDC)

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