Dubai: The ongoing popularity of tablets and smartphones coupled with strong dollar and low-consumer confidence will cause the fourth-quarter PC market in the UAE to suffer a decline.
Fouad R. Charakla, research manager at International Data Corporation (IDC), told Gulf News that the market is expected to fall year-on-year by 6.9 per cent to 341,373 units in the fourth quarter with a market value of $200 million (Dh734 million).
He said the weaker euro and rouble have reduced the number of visitors from the Eurozone and Russia and the weak oil prices are forcing many enterprises and government sectors to reduce their IT spending.
According to Russia’s Federal Tourist Agency (Rostourism), the top three destinations for Russian tourists in the first half of this year were Egypt, Thailand, Germany and the UAE coming in fourth.
About 107,000 Russian tourists visited these places, with a quarter of them going to Egypt.
Reports state that the UAE remains about 50 per cent more expensive than Egypt.
Tourist inflows into the UAE from Europe and Russia are very slow due to the strong dollar, Charkala said, and added that even if they are visiting the country; they [tourists] are spending less.
In 2016, the UAE market is expected to witness a growth of 3.4 per cent.
“We are expecting a slow market for the next two more quarters and the market is expected to make a recovery in the second half of next year,” Charakla said.
In the third quarter, the PC market fell by 13.3 per cent to 329,519 units with a market value of $193 million.
Laptops fell by 10.9 per cent and desktops by 20 per cent as both consumer and commercial sectors were slow.
At the same time, the tablet market also fell by 5.4 per cent to 467,723 units.
“If the shift was not there from PCs to tablets, the tablet market would also have fallen by same percentage points,” he said. In the fourth quarter, the tablet market is expected to stay flat.
Charakla expects the ultra-slim laptops, convertible notebooks and all-in-ones to grow its product share in the long run.
He said that some users are not replacing their machines and are instead spending more on smartphones. Smartphones and tablets have proven to be more convenient alternatives when compared to PCs for communication, social media usage, etc.
For full year, the PC market is expected to fall by 14.7 per cent to 1.38 million units compared to 1.62 million units.
Windows 10, which was launched in the third quarter of 2015 had a minimal impact on shipments in the quarter and did not give a much-needed boost to the sagging PC sales.
Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner, said that the release of Windows 10 is expected to contribute to a slowing professional demand in 2015 globally.
However, he said that Windows 10 could boost replacements during 2016 as suppliers and buyers adjust to new prices.
