PC sales decrease in Brazil
The Brazilian PC market has seen a considerable shift in 2016 with 4,5 million items sold and a 31.7 percent drop in sales in relation to the prior year, says analyst firm IDC.
Of that total, 3 million units were sold to final consumers while the remainder was purchased by corporate buyers. Of all the PCs sold in 2016, 2,8 million units were notebooks and 1,7 million, desktops.
With the continued decline of the local PC market, manufacturers are also earning less: the whole market generated R$10.9m ($3.5m) in 2016 compared to R$15.3m ($4.9m) in 2015. This is due mainly to price increases caused by the rise of the US dollar against the Brazilian real.
In addition to the economic instability that hit the market last year, IDC points out there was more interest in other devices that offer the ability to get access to entertainment, such as smartphones, tablets and smart TVs.
"The computer - which until 2012 was practically the only device to offer access to the internet - has been losing space for other devices year after year," says Pedro Hagge, research analyst at IDC Brazil.
A future increase in PC sales in Brazil is not to be expected, according to IDC. This is due to the fact that the local market has matured and device life has now surpassed six years as quality has improved and use has been divided with other devices.
"In order to stand out in the market, manufacturers need to innovate and offer products with affordable prices," Hagge adds.