PC monitor shipments to the countries of the Middle East and Africa (MEA) declined 1% year on year (YoY) in Q1 2020 to total 1,1-million units, according to the latest insights from International Data Corporation (IDC).
However, the firm’s Quarterly PC Monitors Tracker reveals that the value of shipments increased 9,9% over the same period to total $193,27-million.
The growth in the market’s value can be attributed to currency depreciations against the US dollar in many countries across the region.
The relative increase of the dollar versus local currencies caused prices to rise, while an increase in shipments of gaming monitors–which have a higher average selling price–also served to boost the market’s value.
“The decline in shipments stemmed from the production shortages experienced by ODM (original design manufacturer) and OEM (original equipment manufacturer) factories in China as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Nourhan Abdullah, a senior research analyst at IDC.
“Supply-chain disruption was experienced across all brands, while this was further compounded by a distortion in demand due to the drop in market spending on the technology.”
The commercial side of the market is suffering due to the lack of governmental deals currently taking place, the cancellation of IT projects, and the fact that many businesses are postponing IT renewals in an attempt to cut costs.
However, the consumer segment saw a 25,2% YoY increase in units–together with a corresponding increase in unit share from 30% in Q4 2019 to 36% in Q1 2020–as a result of work-from-home policies and the implementation of e-learning processes.
This jump in consumer demand caused a notable increase in online sales and a surge in gaming monitors thanks to shipments from Dell, MSI, and TPV to the region in Q1 2020.
In terms of the vendor rankings, Dell maintained its position as market leader and increased its unit share to more than 30%. HP Inc lost share to other brands but retained second place, followed by Lenovo in third.