Australian tablet market crashes in Q1

The Australian market for tablet and 2-in-1 devices shrank 25% year-on-year in the first quarter, a sharp decline demonstrating the slowdown in demand for the products, according to IDC.

Around 770,700 tablets shipped in the market during the quarter, the research firm has calculated. This marks a 40% slump from the fourth quarter, much steeper than the typical seasonal decline during the first quarter.

But IDC said there remain signs of life in the troubled market. While consumer device shipments were down 27% year-on-year, commercial shipments improved by a modest 1.2% over the same period, driven by the trend towards developing a mobile workforce.

IDC said growth potential in the commercial segment is high due to the recent federal government decision to increase the asset tax write-off threshold from $1000 to $20,000, expanding budgets for small business buyers.

“Opportunities that exist in the enterprise market are real and growing. The high-profile partnership between Apple and IBM is a strategic move to capture a slice of this pie. Android for Work is Google’s attempt to break into the enterprise market,” IDC Australia analyst Joseph Hsiao said.

“On top of that, there is the incumbent player Microsoft and their soon-to-be-released Windows 10. It will be interesting to see how the play unveils.”

Commercial sales currently make up only 15% of the total Australian tablet and 2-in-1 market, although this has improved from 11% in 2013.

Image courtesy of Siddartha Thota under CC