THE Philippine personal computer (PC) market saw a decline of 24.2% to 1.89 million units in 2023 from 2.5 million a year prior, but could rebound this year driven by the education sector, according to International Data Corp. (IDC).
“Despite the improved results in the fourth quarter of 2023 with a 10.5% annual increase recorded in that specific quarter, 2023 PC market registered a substantial decline of 24.2% with shipments,” IDC Philippines Associate Research Analyst for Devices Research Roben Dispo said in a statement on Monday.
IDC said the market’s drop last year was mostly due to the drop in purchases of the government sector during the first half due to procurement-related difficulties.
“As these challenges were resolved, it resulted in the surge in deals during the second half of 2023. Meanwhile, the private sector remained cautious about purchases, reflecting a negative outlook for the year,” it said.
“This cautious stance extended to the consumer market, which witnessed a decline in demand parallel with the decelerating trend in household spending,” IDC added.
Household spending grew by 5.6% in 2023, slower than 8.3% in 2022.
In 2023, Acer Group led the Philippine PC market with a 26.5% share, IDC said, citing data from its Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. This was down from its 26.4% market share in 2022.
Acer’s shipments decreased by 26.7% to 501,000 units in 2023 from 684,000 units a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Lenovo held a 21.5% market share in 2023, up from 17.9% previously as it sold 408,000 units, down 8.7% year on year.
HP, Inc. had a 12.8% share and shipped 243,000 units, while ASUS cornered 10.2% of the market with 194,000 units.
Lastly, Dell Technologies had a 7.6% market share as its shipments stood at 145,000.
“Even though both HP, Inc. and Lenovo’s share grew especially in the commercial segment, Acer remained unhinged at the top with consistent demand coming from the consumer segment,” IDC said.
For this year, the Philippine PC market may rebound and post growth as the education sector is expected to drive demand, Mr. Dispo said.
“Although inventory levels are still being managed carefully, vendors are likely to remain cautious amidst economic uncertainties and soft demand. Nevertheless, shipments are forecasted to rebound by 26.5% this year with growth driven by the education sector, as more than 490,000 laptops are expected to be delivered to the DepEd Computerization Program (DCP) via multiple deals which were announced since the end of last year,” he said.
DCP is a nationwide initiative that aims to deliver laptops to public high schools to enhance the teaching-learning process. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante