Printers boom in 1st quarter

The worldwide hardcopy peripherals, aka printers, market expanded for the third quarter in a row in the first quarter of 2021 (1Q21) with shipments growing 19.3% year over year to approximately 25.5 million units. Shipment value also increased during the quarter with year-over-year growth of 10.8% to $10.9 billion as more tenders and contract renewals took place in the office, according to new data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker.

Notable highlights from the quarter include:

• Year-over-year increases in unit shipments were observed in all nine regional markets with Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan and China) leading the way with 31.0% growth, followed by China (PRC) at 25.4% and Western Europe at 18.9%. Similar to last quarter, the common theme for 1Q21 was growth driven by increased demand for low-end devices.
• Both inkjet and laser markets posted year-over-year shipment growth at 37.0% and 3.6%, respectively. Inkjet vendors continued to record high shipments to meet ongoing demand and fill backlog orders as markets continue to adapt to the new normal.
• HP Inc. outperformed all other companies in the top 5 in terms of year-over-year shipment growth for the third quarter in a row. The vendor posted a year-over-year increase of 36.4% with worldwide shipments of approximately 10.8 million units. HP Inc.’s Instant Ink program is helping to drive sales as it grew its subscriber base to over 9 million users. The vendor is seeing continued demand combined with favorable pricing and inventory replenishment within the consumer space.

Worldwide Hardcopy Peripherals Market, Unit Shipments, Company Share, and Year-Over-Year Growth, Q1 2021 (based on unit shipments)

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, May 6, 2021