According to the latest data released by International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker India’s Printer market registered shipment of 0.84 million units in 3Q21 (Jul-Sep) growing by 20.3% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) however declining by 7.5% from year-over-year (YoY) perspective. The printer market includes Inkjet printers, Laser A3/A4 printers and Copiers, Serial Dot Matrix Printers, and Line Printers.
The inkjet printers’ segment declined YoY by 11.9% due to the low stock availability of ink cartridge printers. From a QoQ perspective, the segment however grew by 21.8%, primarily by HP’s delayed 2Q21 shipment spilling over into 3Q21. Additionally, with schools and colleges being forced to continue the virtual classes, demand from parents and students remained strong in 3Q21.
The laser printers’ segment (including copiers) recorded a marginal YoY decline of 1.8%. The laser copier segment, however, observed a YoY growth of 15.1%. With the markets opening further, the demand from the government picked up following an increase in the number of new projects and execution of those that were previously on hold. The corporate sector, too, observed a surge in demand for laser copiers as they began resuming operations from offices in a phased manner.
“In the Inkjet printer segment, while the shipment of single-function printers declined, that of the multi-function printers grew at 25.2% YoY. This growth came primarily at the back of ink tank printers and more specifically from the $200 – $300 category of printers. Because of its price point and added functionalities, there is a growing preference for multi-function Ink tank printers over Laser A4 printers in offices where these printers are typically deployed in the cabins of senior-level management. Most of the demand was met by HP and it could have been higher had it not been for the stock crunch that Epson and Canon faced in 3Q21,” says Bani Johri, Market Analyst, IPDS, IDC India.
Overall Top Companies in India Hardcopy Peripherals* (HCP) Market:
HP Inc. (excluding Samsung) maintained its leadership in the overall HCP market with a share of 46.9% and a YoY growth in shipment of 2.3%. The growth was led by the Inkjet printer segment, wherein HP grew by 9.1% YoY, increasing its market share from the last few quarters to 46.3%, thus replacing Epson to become occupy the 1st position in the inkjet printer segment. The growth came at the back of its ink tank portfolio which grew by 53.5% YoY coupled with the launch of new models in 3Q21. In the Laser A4 printer-based segment HP declined by 6.6% YoY as it struggled with product availability.
Epson occupied the 2nd position in the overall HCP market with a market share of 20.7% while registering a YoY decline of 9.4% because of the challenges it faced at the production end. In the inkjet printer segment, it occupied the 2nd position in the market with a share of 32.0%. Epson was particularly impacted in the ink tank multi-function printer category.
Canon recorded a YoY decline of 25.4% and occupied 3rd position in the overall India HCP market, capturing a unit market share of 20.1%. In the inkjet printer segment, Canon observed a YoY decline of 43.2% as it struggled with the stock availability of certain Ink cartridge models. In the laser segment (including laser copiers) Canon maintained its 2nd position with a market share of 24.8% while growing YoY by 12.0%. In the laser copier segment, Canon grew by 37.7% YoY and continued to lead the copier segment with a 35.1% market share.
IDC India Printer Market Outlook:
“Chip shortages and increase in logistics costs will continue to impact the supply of printers and is also likely to cause an upward revision in prices as well. As schools/colleges open, we can expect demand for ink tank printers to start stabilizing in the coming quarters. Laser copier demand is expected to remain strong in Q4, as enterprises continue to bring employees back to offices,” says Nishant Bansal, Senior Research Manager, IPDS, IDC India.
*Note: IDC defines hardcopy peripherals (HCP) as the group of hardware technologies that connect to a computer, digital camera, camera phone, or memory card to capture, print, or view content. IDC categorizes hardcopy peripherals as printers, multifunction peripherals (MFPs), single-function digital copiers (SF DCs), and single-function fax (SF FAX).
