Wirth Consulting

for independent office printing, business-process, and hybrid workflow research and insight

Asia/Pacific Printer/MFP Shipments Plunge 15.2 Percent in First Half

by ·

The Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) hardcopy peripherals (HCP) market faces sharp declines amid economic and political volatility in the first half of 2024, according to new research from International Data Corporation. The Laser A3 and A4 Segments were hit hard, while the Inkjet Segment showed resilience in selected regions.

According to the IDC Worldwide Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, Asia/Pacific excluding Japan region (APeJ) recorded a year-over-year (YoY) semiannual decline of 15.2 percent in the first half of 2024 (2024H1) compared to the first half of 2023 (2023H1). From January to June of 2024, IDC recorded that the total HCP shipments reached 13.5 million units across the region. In terms of sequential semiannual performance, 2024H1 dropped by 7.8 percent  compared to the second half of 2023.

Breaking down the semiannual performance of 2024H1 against 2023H1 by each product type:

  • Inkjet printers declined by 16.1 percent;
  • Laser devices (including A4 and A3 machines) dropped by 12.1 percent; and
  • Serial Dot Matrix (SDM) segment declined by 29.4 percent.

First-Half Inkjet Market

The total inkjet market showed a much steeper decline compared to what IDC anticipated. IDC said the current state of the economy in multiple countries played a major toll on consumer spending. End users were actively reducing their spending and were more cautious with their purchasing behavior due to high inflation and the rising cost of living.

The majority of APeJ countries showed a drop in shipments for ink cartridge models contributed by the tightening of household spending. IDC observed that pricing for both ink-cartridge and ink-tank printers are getting competitive across brands in order to gain comparative advantage in such a competitive environment.

First-Half Laser A3 Market

The new year started with weak business sentiments as SMBs were seen to tighten their spending, and businesses continued to downsize and took cost-cutting measures. Based on IDC’s prior forecast assumptions, the post-election dynamics did turn out to have a negative impact on the Laser A3 market in several countries like India, Indonesia, Korea, and Taiwan.

The total Laser A3 segment declined by 17.5 percent year-over-year due to the political volatility that caused businesses to hold their spending and government to put on hold their projects and tenders until the situation became more stable.

As for the Laser A4 segment, the market recorded an 11.5 percent year-over-year drop. The entry-level Laser A4 segment continued to lose its market share to ink tank products as inkjet continued to grow its presence in the market.

First Half Top-Three Home/Office Printer Brand Highlights

  • HP Inc. secured the top spot in the total HCP market. However, HP’s total shipments for both inkjet and laser declined by 13.5 percent year-over-year, which provided a clear indication that both consumer and commercial demand had softened. Most vendors were faced with similar issues, as the current state of the economy had a huge impact on driving down demand.
  • Epson continued to dominate the inkjet market with approximately 2.5 million shipments across the region. Epson’s inkjet shipments declined by 9.8 percent year-over-year. The migration rate from laser A4 to ink tank had slowed down in several matured countries but still showed signs of opportunity in a few developing countries.
  • Canon remained in third position this quarter, with a YoY decline of 21.8 percent year-over-year. Canon’s inkjet portion declined by 29.4 percent year-over-year, but its laser segment grew by 6.4 percent year-over-year compared to the same period of last year. This growth was largely due to strong shipments of mono printer-based devices, driven by corporate and government deals in multiple countries, similar to the previous quarter.

“In reality, the rate of decline for the total HCP market surpassed our expectation for 2024H1. Other than the impact of macroeconomic factors, political factors played a huge role in suppressing demand. Just a few weeks into the second half of 2024, there had already been political turmoil happening in a few countries. Thus, such factors will produce a negative outcome for the coming quarters.” commented Yi Karl Tai, Research Analyst at IDC Asia Pacific.

For more information on this IDC tracker, contact Yi Karl Tai at yktai@idc.com. 

More Resources

June 2024: Worldwide Printer and MFP Shipments Down Again in First-Quarter 2024