The Indian personal computer market set a new milestone by shipping 3.4 million units in the July-September quarter of 2020, as per a release by the International Data Corporation (IDC) India on Tuesday.

According to IDC India, the PC market, inclusive of desktops, notebooks and workstations, delivered a strong quarter with 9.2 per cent year over year (yoy) growth, as per IDC which also said it was "the biggest quarter in the last seven years in India." "Consumer segment recorded its biggest quarter ever with 2.0 million shipments, growing 41.7 per cent yoy and 167.2 per cent from the previous quarter," it said, adding that the commercial segment had very few government and education projects. The demand in the country is fuelled by schools and colleges functioning virtually, leading to a surge in demand for consumer notebooks, especially in large cities.

"However, the demand for notebook PCs remains much higher than the current supply, which is likely to lead to another strong quarter of shipments in Q4 of 2020 (October-December)," it predicted. Commenting on the current demand for personal computers, Bharath Shenoy, market analyst for PC Devices at IDC India said, "There is still a lot of uncertainty if and when will the schools and colleges return to physical classrooms at full strength. This is forcing students to manage all their learning virtually.

This demand is expected to stay strong as India remains underpenetrated in PCs. To add to this, the growing broadband connectivity in the country is making online learning easier for students. Hence, this opportunity will continue to be relevant for PC vendors for at least a few more quarters."

As per the data, HP Inc retained the top position in this quarter with a share of 28.2 per cent, Lenovo and Dell, are next in the list with 21.7 and 21.3 per cent, respectively, while Acer Group retained the fourth position with a 9.5 per cent share and ASUS was at the fifth spot.

"Anticipating a longer work from home possibility, enterprises are getting ready for a larger mobile workforce and keep reducing their dependency on desktops. Also, SMBs started showing more momentum and will be critical in sustaining the ongoing growth in the commercial segment," Jaipal Singh, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India said.

"Unfortunately, shortages of some key components continue to be a challenge. Vendors that will be able to manage the supplies of these components will benefit from this opportunity more as there is still a lot of untapped demand for PCs in the country," he added.