Thailand’s PC market set for 7.9% growth amid business transformation demand

The personal computer (PC) market in Thailand is predicted to expand by 7.9% this year, driven by the increasing demand from businesses seeking digital transformation, according to IDC Thailand’s market analyst. The first quarter of 2023 saw the market contract by 20.3% year-on-year, but it experienced a 12.9% growth quarter-on-quarter due to consumer spending through the government’s “Shop Dee Mee Kuen” scheme.

Puwanart Pientanyakij, a market analyst for device research at IDC Thailand, referred to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Device Tracker, which indicated that Thailand achieved 566,000 unit sales in the first quarter. The consumer segment led the decline, with shipments dropping 31.1% year-on-year to 339,000 units.

IDC Thailand stated that vendors have been concentrating on reducing channel inventory since last year, following the decrease in demand after the pandemic. Most market players successfully lowered their inventory to under 14 weeks of stock, enabling them to increase the sell-in of new gaming notebooks with the latest generation of graphic cards. The Shop Dee Mee Kuen scheme also helped revive consumer demand.

In the first quarter, the commercial segment experienced a 4.1% year-on-year growth and a 5.2% sequential growth, reaching 226,000 unit sales. This growth was attributed to public sector spending prior to the May election and large enterprises, particularly in the banking sector, investing in PC renewals, security, and data transformation.

Regarding the top-five market share in the first quarter, HP Inc secured 18.5% due to its marketing campaign, which helped manage inventory and boost new consumer shipments. HP also closed several deals in the public sector and a very large business segment. Lenovo ranked second with 17%, but it took the lead in the commercial market thanks to multiple wins in the public sector and enterprise segment.

Asus secured third place with a 15.8% share and maintained its position as the market leader in the consumer market. The company benefited from launching new gaming devices, which helped it lead branded gaming notebooks in the first quarter of 2023.

Dell Technologies ranked fourth with a 13.1% market share. Despite most of Dell’s projects being delivered in the previous quarter, it was one of the few brands to show year-on-year growth in commercial notebook shipments due to several deals in the corporate market.

Acer Group claimed fifth place with a 10.7% share. The vendor closed several deals in the public sector and very large business segments, while focusing on correcting channel inventory in the consumer segment, reported Bangkok Post. Puwanart said…

“Despite the growth, PC vendors are concerned about upcoming projects because the commercial market has largely adopted a wait-and-see attitude after the general election in May 2023, as they wait to see whether the new government’s policies will boost the overall economy.”