Smartphones, Tablets Hurting Printer Market in India

New Delhi: Slow consumer spending and proliferation of smartphones and tablets led to 5.9 percent decline in the Indian printer copier and multifunctional product (MFP) market to 6.41 lakh units in the fourth quarter last year, research firm Gartner said. In contrast, 6.81 lakh units had been shipped in the October-December quarter of 2010. Q4 of 2011 did not meet expectations when compared to the previous quarter. Inkjet and page products registered mixed sales as organisations controlled purchasing of print devices and looked for services rather than products," Gartner Research analyst Amrita Choudhury said. The growing proliferation of electronic media, such as smartphones and tablets, as a means of communication also contributed to the dismal outcome, the research firm said. HP remained the leader with 53 percent market share in the Q4 2011, though it lost share by 2.7 percentage points as compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, Gartner said. Canon followed with 21.8 percent market share, while Epson and Samsung followed with 9.8 percent and 7.9 percent market share, respectively, it added. In the A4 MFP space, which includes inkjet and page technology, HP maintained its leadership position with 52.2 percent market share, followed by Canon, Epson and Samsung with 20.6, 10.9 and 8.6 percent share, respectively. In the A3 flatbed copier MFP segment, Canon led the market with 24.7 percent share, followed by Ricoh, Konica Minolta and Xerox with 19.4 percent, 15.1 percent and 11 percent share respectively, the study said. The inkjet printers market experienced a decline of 24.9 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, the research said. In the inkjet segment, HP witnessed a shipment decline of 35.6 percent compared to fourth quarter of 2010. HP's share of the market too declined from 71 percent in Q4 of 2010 to 61 percent in Q4 of 2011, Gartner said. But Epson witnessed a 16.7 percent growth in its sale to command 31 percent market share, Gartner said. Canon saw a decline of 34 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, but it did not have much effect on its market share, as it shrunk to 8 percent from 9 percent in Q4 of 2010, it added.