India tablet sales grow 2.9 per cent in June quarter to 7.22 lakh units

Though the use of tablets is declining in India tablets are not going away anywhere soon.

According to the figures of the International Data Corporation's (IDC) Personal Computing Device Tracker, about 7,22,000 tablets were shipped in India in Q2 2017, which indicated a growth rate of 2.9 per cent from the previous quarter.

Though Lenovo has lost its market share in the smartphone segment, but it continues to be a force to reckon with in the tablet space, being the number one tablet brand in India with a market share of 21.8 per cent. The company saw its shipment grow 12.6 per cent during the period.

Samsung holds the second position with a market share of 20 per cent while Canadian company Datawind, which shot to fame with entry-level Aakash tablets, was down to  the third position after its shipments declined by 9.4 per cent in the last quarter.

The company enjoys a market share of 18 per cent. Shipments of Indian company iBall also declined 9 per cent, but it still controls 15.2 per cent of the market.

Cupertino giant Apple saw a growth of 49 per cent over the last quarter and is now the fifth biggest tablet company in India. According to the IDC report, growth in the tablet segment is largely driven by demand in government projects, education sector and enterprises.

However, while the commercial segment witnessed ''healthy growth'', consumer market shipments were down by 13.8 per cent sequentially in the June 2017 quarter, the report said.

According to IDC, the consumer market was impacted by the implementation of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime.

''Uncertainty about the levy of the new tax structure restricted the stocking of inventory and in turn led to limited sell-in of tablets in the country,'' IDC India associate market analyst (client devices) Celso Gomes said.

Digital projects across government and education sectors were the key driving verticals for the growth of the commercial sector, Gomes added.

According to IDC India senior market analyst Jaipal  Singh, consumer segment shipment is expected to be better in the second half of the year, recovering from two quarters of consecutive decline as the market prepared for upcoming festival season.