The worldwide hardcopy peripherals (HCP) market increased 0,6% year over year to 26,6-million units in the fourth quarter of 2016 (4Q16), according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker.
The growth was driven by a solid performance in the inkjet and laser markets, which grew 0,6% and 1,6% year over year, respectively. Shipment value also increased to more than $14-billion in the quarter.
Each of the top three vendors saw year-over-year shipment growth in 4Q16, with HP Inc leading the chart at 4,3%, followed by Canon at 1,4% and Epson’s 1,1%. showed a 4,7% increase YoY. Fourth-ranked Brother and fifth-ranked Samsung posted year-over-year declines, with Samsung declining 25,2%.
Highlights from this quarter include:
* Six of IDC’s regional markets witnessed year-over-year increases in unit shipments; Asia Pacific (excluding Japan)(APeJ) posted 4,2% growth, the best year-over-year performance, with China continuing to be the key growth propeller. Inkjet growth in China was fuelled by continuous upsurge for ink tank printers within the small and medium business (SMB) segment, while laser growth was powered by channel expansion by the key vendors.
* HP outperformed all other vendors in the top five with more than 10-million units, increasing 4,3% year over year. The vendor enjoyed year-over-year expansion in both the inkjet and laser segments, which was driven by channel expansion and continued demand for its top selling inkjet and laser models.
* Epson continued to ride on the popularity of the L series (Ink tank) in APeJ and introduced four new L series models to help with its dominance in the Ink tank segment. The L series now accounts for more than 80% of the total inkjet shipment for Epson and L360 continued to be the top model this quarter with close to 302 500 units shipped.
