Bangkok--27 Mar--IDC Research
IDC’s Asia/Pacific Quarterly PC Tracker reveals that Thailand’s PC Market contracted for the second consecutive year, declining 16.7% in 2014 to 2.5 million units shipped.
The Thai PC market reached its peak in 2012 before its market share was impacted by the emergence of smartphones and tablets throughout 2013. Political turmoil that led to the recent coup and poor domestic demand were largely responsible for the decline in 2014.
“Protests across the country at the start of 2014 severely hampered consumer and business sentiments, forcing them to tighten their belts and reduce spending. This raised concerns from the international business community about Thailand's economic stability, disrupted the government’s budget disbursement and ultimately resulted in the coup,” says Jarit Sidhu, a senior market analyst for client devices research at IDC Thailand.
Sidhu continues, “There is no doubt that the mid-year coup brought about an ‘artificial’ stability, but it did little to mitigate any consequential damage to the country. The protracted issues in Thailand had resulted in a sluggish economy with weak domestic demand due to high household debts, a contraction in exports, as well as a slowdown in foreign tourism since martial law was imposed.”
Consumer demand for desktops shrank 13% in 2014 compared to the year before, while the consumer notebook market saw a steeper drop of 17% despite the launch of new ultraslim notebooks. Public sector investment on PCs declined by nearly 45%, while private sector spending fell 11%. On the positive side, spending from large companies in the financial, manufacturing and healthcare sectors remained stable, which helped to mitigate the lack of spending by smaller businesses.
“PC Shipment volumes in 2014 are their lowest since 2008, and IDC expects shipments to remain flat this year. There may be a mild recovery in the commercial segment but it is unlikely we will see higher demand coming from Thai consumers in 2015,” Sidhu concludes.
For more information about the research or to purchase this data, please contact Phawadee Pongsupan at +662 645 2370 or
[email protected]. To set up an interview with Jarit Sidhu, please contact Sasithorn Sae-iao at +662 645 2370 or
[email protected].