PC sales plunge 20.6% in Q1 on poor government orders: Gartner

MUMBAI: The first quarter of 2014 has started a poor note for the domestic PC market -- both desk as well as mobile-based computers -- as sales plunged 20.6 per cent to 1.9 million units over the same period last year.

According to data from industry research and advisory firm Gartner, white boxes (including parallel imports), which accounted for 39 per cent of the desktop market, registered 7 per cent decline in sales in the first quarter over the same period last year.

On the other hand, mobile PC sales saw a steeper decline of 32 per cent year-on-year due to lack of government orders.

"In the absence of any government orders this quarter, the PC market performed dismally, re-emphasising the fact that sentiment was not very positive in the first quarter of 2014, and enterprises are deferring their purchases.

"However, with the new government, there is a positive sentiment among enterprises and consumers, and we expect markets to bounce back in the next two quarters," Gartner Principal Research Analyst Vishal Tripathi said.

Companies like Acer, HP and others have seen a significant decline in their market share. Dell has increased its market share this quarter on strong growth in notebook sales.

Lenovo has also seen a relatively smaller increase in its market share, he added.