A recently concluded study by Intel and IMRB has revealed that PC penetration in urban India has doubled in the last three years from 19% to 38% across SEC A, B and C. This study also reveals that PC desirability is on the upswing across the SECs with the desirability having increased by over 100% in SEC C1.
Commenting on this effort, R.Sivakumar, Managing Director, Sales & Marketing, Intel South Asia said “This is an exciting time for the Indian PC market and our study reiterates the same. We have always believed that the personal computer is a multi-functional device that consumers can use to work, learn and play, most importantly it helps people to take full advantage of today’s technological advances and prepare for tomorrow’s challenges.”
One of the largest studies conducted in India
The study conducted by IMRB for Intel was conducted across 82 cities sampling over 19000 households “This study reveals that there has been a quantum jump in PC desirability over the last three years, which is reflected in the doubling of penetration during the same period. Further the jump is across user profiles, socio-economic segments as well as town classes, which reiterates the universal acceptance and relevance of computers in enhancing today and shaping a better tomorrow. The study is a part of our continuous efforts to further our understanding of consumers and their usage and attitudes towards the computing category” says Prakash Bagri, Director of Marketing for Intel South Asia.
The study titled “India Urban Consumer Segment Nationwide Study 2009-2010” integrated the ITOPS Study, a Hinterland Study and a Qualitative Study to get a holistic view of the PC Market. ITOPS is an existing bi-annual tracker of the IT Hardware Market covering 22 cities in India. The Hinterland Study covered lower tier cities outside of the top 22 cities. A total of 19178 respondents were sampled across 82 cities during this city quantitative analysis. Besides this 54 ethnographic interviews and 14 group discussions across 8 cities spanning Tier 1-4 resulted in the findings of the robust qualitative study.
According to Dr. J Rajaretnam, Senior Vice President, IMRB International, “With a coverage of 82 cities across the country, the study represents a considerably larger coverage of urban India. The estimates are based on population-strata wise build up leading to a more robust estimation of the PC market”
“We have seen the green revolution, we have seen the white revolution and from the findings of this study, we seem to be poised to witness a computer and digital revolution from the Hinterland of India”.
PC Market on the Upswing
The study reveals that PC penetration in affluent & middle income (SEC A-C) Urban households has doubled in the last three years from 19% to 38% which means that nearly 28 million households2 in Urban India now have a PC. What’s even more significant is that the penetration of PCs in SEC B and SEC C though on a smaller base has increased over 100%3 . This is also further amplified by the fact that there has been a dramatic increase in PC desirability from 35% to 57% amongst SEC A-C households in Urban India with the desirability of SEC C having shown a dramatic increase of over 100% from 26% to 54%. Clearly this signals that owning a personal computer is no more restricted to the upwardly mobile urban users.
The concentration and fragmentation paradox is perhaps most pronounced in the PC market with the top 76 cities accounting for nearly 55% of the recent home computer purchases with the remaining 45% of the purchases being made by consumers from across 4500 cities.
Notebooks bring new users into the fold
The study reveals that the personal computing market is not seeing a classical evolution pattern of consumers using a desktop first and then moving to notebooks. Today more and more first time buyers are buying notebooks as their first computer. In 2006, 41% of the PC non-owners opted to put desktops in their wish list while only a mere 17% opted for notebooks. However in 2009 the percentage of non owners opting for Notebooks in their wish list doubled to a whopping 31% while those opting for a desktop PC stayed relatively flat at 44%.Clearly a significant percentage increase in willingness to adopt Notebooks is reflective of the ‘on the go’ convenient lifestyle of the population.
Youth segment is the torch bearer for PC growth
The overall PC market has grown significantly over the last three years and one of the greatest contributors of this growth is the youth of India who clearly are the torch bearers for PC adoption in India.
The study reveals that though pester power begins early, it is only the older youth who have a significant influence on the final purchase of the PC. Youth in the age group of 18-25 are able to play a significant role as facilitators during the actual purchase of the PC.
PC adoption driven primarily by functionality and usage model
The value and usability of a PC continues to drive PC adoption. The study revealed that 48% of non owners who voluntarily use the PC for six to ten hours a week intend to buy a computer in the next six months. While education, research, reading and being able to bring work home remain important factors that drive PC usage, multimedia uses of the PC like gaming, watching DVDs and listening to music are also becoming increasingly important. Another interesting point is that the internet is not the primary element driving PC usage in India.
All PC buyers seek value while buying PCs
Some of the other key findings of the survey indicate that all socio economic class buyers do not buy low, they sensibly seek value in the PC & how it can impact their daily life in a positive manner. However, perceptions of complexity in using a PC still exist where PCs are not viewed as intuitive.
“We can now say with certainty that the PC market is on the upswing and that the PC is no longer restricted to a select segment of consumers but has acquired a mass appeal across SECs and city tiers” concluded Prakash Bagri.
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