KEY FINDINGS

• Sales of laptop and desktop computers exceeded 302 million in 2020, a 13% increase from the year before and the most since 2014. Lenovo led the market with a 24% share, followed by HP, Dell and Apple ranked fourth.
• The world stocked up on laptop and desktop computers in 2020 at a level not seen since 2007, and manufacturers still are months away from fulfilling outstanding orders.
• In 2021, installed PCs and tablets will reach 1.77 billion, up from 1.64 billion in 2019.
• All the tech giants and Apple was unable to meet the sudden surge in demand for the newly launched MacBook Air and Pro models. While currently most of the popular models of MacBook Air and Pro (2020 version) were not available in the market.
• During April-June 2020 quarter, despite lockdowns and poor consumer sentiment, shipment of notebooks surged by an impressive 17.6%.
• Shipment of enterprise notebooks, mostly used for heavy office work, jumped by a whopping 105.5% and for highly impacted small and medium businesses, raised to 12.1%.
  
  

INTRODUCTION

Business laptops, as the name suggests, are typically used for business purposes. Initially, these laptops weren’t available in attractive designs and were only meant to support the 40 working hours weekly schedule in the corporate sector, with features such as durability, portability, and the capacity to run many programs simultaneously.

However, over the years, the line of demarcation between personal laptops and business laptops started to become ambiguous due to multiple features being offered in all laptops. 

Looking at the laptop market from the perspective of end use, business activities hold a major market share capturing more than 40% of the entire global laptop market in the current scenario.

Today, small, medium and large businesses require laptops for various tasks such coding, programming, presentations, graphic designing and preparing documents.

With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and virtual work mode being adopted worldwide, especially by educational institutions has added to the demand of business laptops. 

Some distinctive features of business laptops today are wide screen display, enhanced processors, graphics and connectivity options.

BUSINESS LAPTOP MARKET DRIVERS 

The main drivers for growth of the business laptop market are :

• Greater internet penetration, especially in emerging markets
• Rising disposable incomes
• Advancement of technology and product innovation initiatives by the big players
• Increase in global population
• Increasing awareness among consumers
• Greater investments in digital economy by manufacturers and availability of laptops at a reasonable cost due to mass production
• Rise in e-commerce activities, especially during the Covid Era
• Greater use of laptops in educational institutions and online learning programmes 
  
  

BUSINESS LAPTOP MARKET TRENDS

The affordability factor is being given emphasis by the main manufacturers in the laptop market due to which greater investments in terms of research and development are taking place. An attempt to keep matching the speed of advancement of technology is also being considered. The technology is ever charging with new inventions such as 5G, augmented reality, etc. so this dynamic environment becomes a challenge for the producers.

OEMs are willing to collaborate with companies due to the necessity of continuous innovation in products as well as rise in the level of competition. This helps in better promotion and launch of the product. An efficient supply chain is also necessary for faster production which is being ensured by the OEMs to meet the increasing competitions and demands of the customers. 

Presence of the desktop PC industry is a factor contributing to the growth of the laptop industry. Since the PC industry focuses on bulk orders given by either governments or companies, this also helps to strike a deal for laptops with the same companies.

This is also the reason why most of the top players in the laptop market are also manufacturing PCs. Commercial contracts bids are very common among the laptop manufacturers.In terms of operating systems, the market share of Windows is way higher than MacOS.

BUSINESS LAPTOP MARKET SEGMENTATION

Business Laptop Market By Region

Europe had the highest market share in the previous years as there is high awareness among consumers about the advancement of technology. 

North America was another prominent market. Since both these regions have a mature market, they do not offer much opportunity for growth unless there is any significant change being brought about in the technology. 

Emerging markets in the Asia Pacific region have a higher potential to record growth as there is increasing urbanisation in these areas. Internet penetration and favorable government initiatives are also contributing to greater demand for laptops. It is estimated that this region would record the highest CAGR. 

Middle East and Africa would also be lucrative markets due to rise in per capita disposable income in these regions and digitalisation.

In the years 2025-2031, for developing nations across the globe the main drivers for demand would be the growth of digitalisation, inflows of foreign direct investment, and focus on the production of laptops in these areas.

Business Laptop MarketBy Type

There are 2 types of models that are available – traditional and 2 in 1. The traditional model is the more popular model due to better features such as more storage and better RAM, currently. Even factors such as ease of use and reliability are contributing to sales of these laptops.

The 2 in 1 model is however, more portable and more energy efficient combining the features of a laptop and a tablet. There are many high functionality features being added to these laptops like rear cameras, fingerprint readers, better storage and RAM which will drive the sales of these laptops. It is forecasted that the growth rate of the 2 in 1 segment will be higher in 2021-2026 as compared to the traditional model. 

Business Laptop MarketBy Screen Size

15 inches – 16.9 inches: These find wide usage in offices as they occupy less space due to having a thinner and wide-screen. Additional features offered in these laptops are powerful processors and enhanced storage systems. This segment is forecasted to hold a high market share in the coming years.

13 inches to 14.9 inches: This segment offers greater portability and usage. This is also used for business applications due to features such as long battery life, lower cost and powerful processors. There will be a rise in demand for these laptops as well. 

The preferred pricing for laptops is between US 500 and 1000 which holds a major market share in the business segment.

NEW PRODUCTS LAUNCHED IN BUSINESS LAPTOP MARKET

BUSINESS LAPTOP MARKETCOMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

The market is fragmented and dominated by a few big players who have a significant market share. Some of the main players are:

1. HP
2. Lenovo
3. Dell
4. Apple Inc
5. ASUS
6. Acer

Between HP and Lenovo, there is fierce competition in this market. Dell has been able to seal some major contracts with the government in the United States and Canada.

In terms of product differentiation, Apple laptops come across as unique compared to other laptops. They have been successful in creating customer loyalty for their brand which has contributed to their sales. ASUS is more popular in the Asia Pacific region as compared to North America due to unawareness among the people in the USA.