The Hardcopy Peripherals (HCP) printer market in Asia Pacific dropped 15.2 percent to 13.5 million units from January to June 2024, IDC said.
Inkjet printers declined by 16.1 percent
Laser devices (including A4 and A3 machines) dropped by 12.1 percent
Serial Dot Matrix (SDM) segment declined by 29.4 percent
HP (31.2 percent), Epson (20.4 percent), Canon (17 percent), Brother (8.4 percent), and Pantum (5.6 percent) are the leading printer market in the Asia Pacific region during the first-half of 2024.
HP shines in printer market
HP emerged as the leading brand in the total HCP market, securing the top spot despite a 13.5 percent decrease in shipments for both inkjet and laser devices in 2024H1. This decline reflects the broader trend in the market, where both consumer and commercial demand have softened due to ongoing economic challenges, including high inflation and rising living costs.
The inkjet market, in particular, faced a steeper decline than anticipated, with HP and other vendors feeling the pressure of competitive pricing strategies and cautious consumer spending. The laser market also struggled, with the Laser A3 segment declining by 17.5 percent and the Laser A4 segment by 11.5 percent, driven by political instability and a slowdown in business spending in key markets like India, Indonesia, Korea, and Taiwan.
Despite these challenges, HP’s continued dominance in the HCP market highlights its resilience and ability to navigate a difficult economic landscape, even as the overall market faces significant headwinds.
Epson continued to dominate the inkjet market with approximately 2.5 million shipments across the region. Epson’s inkjet shipments declined by 9.8 percent.
Canon remained in third position this quarter, with a decline of 21.8 percent. Canon’s inkjet portion declined by 29.4 percent, but its laser segment grew by 6.4 percent. This growth was largely due to strong shipments of mono printer-based devices, driven by corporate and government deals in multiple countries, similar to the previous quarter.
The majority of countries showed a drop in shipments for ink cartridge models. IDC analysts observed that pricing for both ink cartridge and ink tank printers are getting competitive across brands in order to gain comparative advantage in such a competitive environment.
