The Russian IT Market Research from ITResearch

At year-end 2018, projectors sales increased within the estimated figures

According to preliminary data from the analytic company ITResearch, 45.8 thousand projectors were sold in Russia in the 4th quarter of 2018. This is about 7% higher than in the past year. And this is very good, because all the autumn months before December showed very vague dynamics, and the analysts even feared that by the end of December the market could go into the red. But December exceeded the estimates and saved the quarter. In 2018, ITResearch analysts expected about a 15% growth rate and the market output at the level of 120-130 thousand units sold. At the moment, the number of units sold within the year is 121.5 thousand and the sales growth is estimated to be about 12%.          
 

The Russian desktop PC market still has growth potential

ITResearch analysts expect that the growth of the Russian desktop PC market in 2019 may be about 5%. And the market, respectively, will slightly exceed the mark of 3 million devices. This means a slowdown in the positive dynamics in the segment that emerged two years ago. It's worth mentioning that in 2017 ITResearch estimated the market growth of 19.4%, and at year-end 2018 this figure is expected to decrease to 10-12%. The main drivers of the desktop PC market growth are still the processes taking place in business and public sectors. These are changes related to political and sanctions issues: the appearance of new economic entities on the wave of import substitution in the industry. However, these factors have already played their part, and new significant supports for the growth of the corporate market are not visible. 
 

The monitor market showed abnormal growth in December 2018

According to the analytic company ITResearch, in December 2018, 425 thousand devices amounting to about $ 66 million were sold in the Russian monitor market. The weighted average cost was about $ 153 for one monitor. In general, as compared to December 2017, the market grew by almost 47%, which is abnormal for the high season. According to analysts, that was most likely due to the same processes which were observed, for example, in the projector market. Expecting a 2% increase in VAT, dealers and retailers decided to purchase products in advance.
 

In December, the laptop market grew slightly

December on the laptop market was worse than expected. According to the analytic company ITResearch, 430 thousand devices were sold in the Russian market, and the annual growth fell to almost zero: + 1.6%, as compared to December 2017. The final month reflects the overall picture observed throughout the year 2018: after the steady growth at the very beginning, the dynamics began to decrease from quarter to quarter. Compared to the low values of the recession period, the PC market grew as much as it could. The installed fleet was updated, and therefore the pent-up demand of previous years was exhausted.        
 

The tablet PC market will continue to fall

The analytic company ITResearch has presented its forecasts for the Russian market of tablet computers for 2019. According to analysts, the segment expects a further decline this year. And it will be even higher than in 2018. Thus, in the past year the segment, according to preliminary estimates of ITResearch, showed a decrease of about 10%, and in 2019 tablet sales will decrease by approximately another 20% and are unlikely to exceed 3 million units per year. In the opinion of ITResearch, the main reason for such pessimistic assessments is the decline in consumer demand for tablets, which tends to be systemic.