New Delhi: Tablets are set to hit record sales in 2024 in India as demand recovers after a year of sharp contraction.
Purchase of affordable computing devices by parents for their children, large-scale orders by state governments and return of procurement by the edtech sector are driving demand in 2024, according to stakeholders and industry analysts.
Tablet sales soared 2.3 times year-on-year in the quarter ended June to reach 1.84 million units, according to a research note published by market research firm International Data Corp. (IDC) India on Thursday.
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The Covid-19 pandemic created huge demand, leading to a 56% increase in tablet sales in 2021 and a 24% growth in 2022 to an all-time high of 5.3 million units, data shared by IDC India with Mint This was due to the need for devices for remote work and study: while offices opted for laptops, tablet brands catered to educational needs, especially in rural areas.
“In 2022, we sold 2.3 million tablets under government contracts to serve rural classrooms in the education sector,” said Harish Kohli, president and managing director of Taiwanese electronics brand Acer’s India business. Mint in a previous interview. “This was largely driven by the need for a sub- ₹“There were 15,000 smart devices and laptops were too expensive to meet that demand.”
But 2023 was a dismal year as the anticipation of the 2024 general elections, coupled with uncertainty in the edtech sector caused by Byju’s troubles, meant that very few commercial tablet contracts were signed. As a result, annual sales declined by almost 25% last year.
Demand has recovered this year thanks to the return of orders from the states and the educational technology sector. The consensus of four analysts surveyed by Mint Tablet sales will be around 5.8-6 million units this calendar year, a growth of almost 50% from the previous year. Analysts estimate that the average selling price of tablets in the market will be around $175 ( ₹14,700), the tablet market is likely to hit an all-time high in sales volume and revenue, which are expected to exceed $1 billion for the first time.
“Parents are beginning to realise that the need for a smart device is inevitable for their child’s education at this point in time,” said Bharath Shenoy, research director at IDC India. “A tablet is the perfect middle ground in many ways as they are very affordable, have larger screens and can be purchased without a SIM card.”
For businesses, he said, tablets represent a key resource in strategic divisions, and with the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and the like, they are becoming inevitable, he said.
Menka Kumari, an analyst at market research firm CMR’s Industry Intelligence Group, also attributed the growing demand to “widespread adoption of 5G, increased remote work and online learning, and a growing demand for larger-screen devices.”
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In the June quarter, a purchase order from the Uttar Pradesh government enabled shipment of 800,000 units of tablets by brands. Earlier, a similar demand from the governments of Gujarat and Bihar provided growth impetus to the tablet market.
“There are more government purchase orders for tablets in the pipeline, largely driven by the price factor,” said a senior industry consultant working with multiple brands on condition of anonymity.
An average education sector tablet costs ₹7,500 ($90) and is ideal for rural classrooms where devices need to be rugged, rather than premium, he said. “In the consumer market, there is a trend toward premium devices as average prices cross ₹20,000 ($240). Apple is the gold standard and the entry-level iPad is priced well enough that many now consider it a great entry point into the Apple ecosystem.”
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