Computer sales drop 7 % on global slowdown

[sajiv]

Computer sales drop 7 % on global slowdown

Global economic slowdown has impacted personal computer sales, which declined for the first time ever by seven per cent in 2008-09.

"Total PC sales between April 2008 and March 2009, with desktop computers, notebooks and netbooks taken together, were 67.9 lakh units, registering a decline of 7 per cent over the previous year. IT consumption in 2008-09 was severely impacted, especially in the second-half of the fiscal year, by the slowdown in the Indian economy," said Manufacturers Association of Information Technology (MAIT)'s industry performance eview for 2008-09.

While the sales of notebooks plummeted by 17 per cent compared to a high of 114 per cent in the previous year, sales of desktops declined by 4 per cent. The October-December quarter was the most adversely impacted, subsequent to which growth in PC consumption started to show signs of revival. With business sentiment gradually gaining momentum, PC sales in 2009-10 are expected register a 7 per cent growth to cross 73-lakh units.

Addressing a press conference here, MAIT's Executive Director Vinnie Mehta said: "Consumer sentiment was subdued due to uncertainty in the economy in 2008-09 which impacted the consumption of IT in the country. While consumption in the first-half of the fiscal was satisfactory, less than expected offtake in sales in the second-half pulled down the overall growth into the negative quadrant. A silver lining in the second-half of 2008-09 was the emergence of a new product category, the netbook that took the fancy of the consumers.