E-learning, WFH power up laptop sales, says IDC

Demand thanks to the rising trend of e-learning and remote working gave a fillip to sales of notebooks and laptops in 2020. CY20 ended the biggest year for notebooks with 7.9-million-unit shipments during the year.

Notebook shipments grew 6 per cent in 2020, said the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker.

If one excludes the mega ELCOT deal, notebooks witnessed an impressive 34.3 per cent YOY growth this year, said IDC. Had the industry not been challenged by the component shortages, notebook shipments could have been much higher during the year. Contrary to this, desktop shipments saw a decline of 33.2 per cent in 2020 as companies reduced their spending on fixed computing devices and preferred mobile devices to manage their operations remotely. This led to a 6.4 per cent decline for the overall PC market in 2020.

The PC market included desktops, notebooks and workstations. IDC stated that 2.9 million PCS were shipped in 4Q20 (Oct-dec), with notebooks growing 62.1 per cent YOY to contribute more than three-fourths of total shipments. The growth driver continues to be the demand from e-learning and remote working, leading to a 74.1 per cent and 14.1 per cent annual growth in the consumer and enterprise segments, respectively. For Q4CY20, PC shipments grew by 27 per cent yearon-year, said data from the IDC.

“The massive demand in the consumer segment driven by online learning led the exceptional performance of notebooks. Likewise, gaming notebook PCS were one of the fastest-growing categories, further proof of the growing importance of gaming in the country,” said Bharath Shenoy, Market Analyst, PC Devices, IDC India. Shenoy adds, “The market saw demand across the price bands and concluded the biggest fourth-quarter shipments for notebooks in India. However, the severe supply challenges for entry-level CPUS and panels restricted growth, as supply remains much lower than the current demand in the country.”