China becomes world's top PC market
China became the world's largest market for personal computers last year despite weaker global demand, a research firm said, adding that the nation is likely to retain the position in the coming years.
The nation’s PC shipments in 2012 hit 69 million units, surpassing the United States, which had annual shipments of 66 million, according to IHS iSuppli.
China’s PC market is projected to grow 3 to 4 per cent this year, it added.
The Chinese PC market has “distinct characteristics” compared with other countries, as its rural market has great potential to fuel sales in the desktop PC segment, said Peter Lin, senior analyst for computer platforms at IHS.
While desktop PC shipments lagged notebook shipments across the world, each of the segments accounted for 50 per cent of the sales in China last year.
“The equal share of shipments for desktops and notebooks in China is unusual because consumers in most regions tend to prefer more agile mobile PCs, rather than the bulky, stationary desktops,” Lin said.
The relatively large percentage of desktop PC shipments in China is because of huge demand in the country’s rural areas, where desktop PCs are preferred, Lin said.
Earlier this year, the government announced plans to boost infrastructure construction in rural areas over the next decade. The initiative, worth 40 trillion yuan (Bt193 trillion), is expected to lift personal incomes in rural areas. According to Lin, the PC market will benefit from the massive investment plan, but shipments of desktops will not surpass those of notebooks until next year.
In addition, China’s commercial market was able to drive about half of the PC shipments, IHS said.
Like in the rest of the world, PC demand in China remains sluggish as consumers migrate to mobile devices such as smart-phones and tablets.
Global PC shipments totalled 76.3 million units in the first quarter, a decline of nearly 14 per cent year-on-year, industry consultancy firm IDC said last month. The extent of the contraction marked the worst quarter since the company began to release the quarterly PC shipments figure in 1994.
The result also marked the fourth consecutive quarter of year-on-year shipment declines, it said.
Gartner Inc, a US-based research firm, said the worldwide traditional PC market is expected to decline 7.6 per cent in 2013 because customers are starting to spend more time on mobile devices.
“As consumers shift their time away from their PC to tablets and smart-phones, they will no longer see their PC as a device they need to replace on a regular basis,” said Carolina Milanesi, research vice-president of Gartner.
This is a reflection of a long-term change in user behaviour rather than a temporary trend induced by the austere economic environment, the report from Gartner added.
Hit by sluggish worldwide PC demand, global manufacturers are looking for future business models for the post-PC era.
The world’s No 1 PC vendor, Hewlett-Packard, is betting on its enterprise software service sector to keep its head above water. The company’s worldwide shipments dived more than 23 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter, IDC said.
Lenovo Group, China’s top PC maker and the world’s second largest, said it’s shifting the focus to mobile devices though PCs remain its biggest profit generator.
Dell Inc, the third-largest vendor by shipments, also said it will beef up its software arm after Michael Dell, its founder, said he will make the company private.
“The industry is at a critical crossroads and strategic choices will have to be made as to how to compete with the proliferation of alternative devices and remain relevant to the consumer,” said David Daoud, research director at IDC’s personal computing department.
“Vendors will have to revisit their organisational structures and market strategies, as well as their supply chain, distribution and product portfolios in the face of shrinking demand and looming consolidation.”
