Business, Government and Education Segments to Keep PC Sales Alive in 2022

As long as the offices were closed, the commercial / enterprise segment’s share of the overall personal computer (PC) market remained lower than the consumer segment for most of 2021, but that is set to change.

In 2022, the commercial segment is expected to dominate the PC market, while consumer demand will experience a slowdown compared to 2021.

“Most segments picked up very quickly after the pandemic, with the exception of a few like education and government. With the opening of major schools and colleges, we expect the first semester of 2022 to have more traction in the education and government sector, ”said Ashweej Aithal, research analyst at Canalys.

Aithal said demand for tablets and laptops will be high due to large tenders from government and educational institutions.

“In 2022, we will see the growth of the commercial segment. As the large backlog orders were finally shipped, we saw healthy shipments growth of 47.6% year-on-year in the third quarter, ”said Sudhir Goel, Commercial Director at Acer India.

Goel pointed out that businesses, especially IT and IT service companies (ITeS), continued to buy to meet the growing workforce that was stuck at home. The demand from small businesses (SMEs) to digitize their operations has also boosted the growth of the business segment.

“We are also seeing governments and public sector companies (PSUs) contributing in 2022, with India’s economy growing and the government’s focus on infrastructure and education. We expect these segments to experience tremendous growth in 2022, ”he added.

India shipped a record 5.3 million PCs in the September quarter, growing 34% year-on-year, according to a Dec. 15 report from market research firm Canalys. These included 3.5 million laptops and 1.2 million tablets. Desktop demand also increased 29% with 0.6 million desktops sold in the quarter.

Another report from Cybermedia Research (CMR), released on December 13, indicated that tablet shipments in India increased 116% sequentially in the September quarter, and Lenovo led the market with a 27% share. . The company also gained a 27% market share in the PC segment through large commercial orders, overtaking HP which was previously No. 1, and now has a 24% market share.

“Record-breaking tablet shipments in the third quarter of 2021 were driven by business segments as well as continued consumer needs for companion devices,” said Prabhu Ram, Industry Intelligence Group Manager at CMR.

“Before, Lenovo was very strong in the commercial segment. Due to the pandemic and anti-Chinese sentiment, it has lost its place in the government and education space. The company started manufacturing tablets in India and we recently saw tenders for Lenovo come to an end, ”Aithal added.

Canalys said that Lenovo’s success is in part due to local production, which has helped regain some of the lost orders with various government agencies.

Like Lenovo, Acer has also stepped up local manufacturing with a focus on desktop computers to meet specific government criteria for a contract order.

Large government orders force suppliers to ensure that more than 50% of the devices supplied are made in India. The Taiwanese company’s laptop shipments have nearly doubled every year, while its desktop business has also grown by nearly 100 percent.

The overall increase in demand for PCs in the September quarter is also attributed to the “rapid economic recovery” in India, led by startups and large corporations. Aithal said that “the seasonal increase in consumer demand has boosted shipments through consumer channels” but is increasing “Purchases by businesses and SMEs have provided strong growth in all segments.”

Meanwhile, the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic is forcing the education sector to continue with hybrid learning models, to stay prepared for a future lockdown.