Global PC manufacturer HP thinks artificial intelligence might be the game changer for this area, especially at a time when India’s personal computer (PC) market is starting to show signs of recovery following a year of weak demand and dropping shipments.
Ipsita Dasgupta, a newly appointed managing director and senior vice president of HP India, believes artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to “change the game” in terms of increasing consumer demand.
She continued by saying that considering the low PC penetration rate in India—roughly 20%—there is a huge scope for growth. “We anticipate that the total addressable market (TAM) will double over the next five years,” the speaker stated.
The AI-enhanced OMEN Transcend 14 laptop series, designed for gamers who like both playing and creating content, was officially launched by HP in India on Wednesday.
The company’s anticipated growth in the upcoming phase will come from SMBs and the education sector.
“Last year, there was some slowdown in the market, primarily in the consumer area. When there is tenderness, there is a chance to consider the future. Furthermore, Dasgupta asserted that the future will undoubtedly expand.
Additionally, HP wants to grow into regions that are tier 3 and higher. The organization has been increasing its offline retail presence to serve customers in smaller cities. As of right now, it has almost 4,000 retail locations spread throughout 425 cities in addition to approximately 770 HP World stores. In 2023, 100 new exclusive HP World stores were added to the existing 770.
According to figures from the International Figures Corporation (IDC), the PC market in India, which comprises desktops, laptops, and workstations, decreased 6.6% year over year to 13.9 million shipments in the calendar year 2023.
Shipments fell precipitously in both the consumer and commercial divisions, mostly as a result of decreased procurement by SMEs and companies, a weakening of demand, and negative market sentiment.
With a market share of 31.5% last year, HP—which has dominated the PC industry since 2016—led the field and did well in both the consumer and business divisions.
Dasgupta continued, “The company has had a strong start to the new year.”
In the first quarter, there was a noticeable uptick in the government sector. However, this will drastically decrease as the elections draw near. But we’ve expected that and are ready for it,” she remarked.
Alongside many other PC manufacturers, HP is attempting to use the IT Hardware PLI 2.0 to increase the size of its manufacturing footprint in India. Midway through next year, the business plans to start local manufacturing under the PLI.
