Brazilian PC market returns to growth
The Brazilian PC market has returned to growth after suffering a lengthy downward trend caused by instability in the US Dollar to Brazilian Real exchange rate, according to research by IDC Brazil.
Some 1.182 million units were sold during the second quarter of 2016, a sales increase of of 13 percent on the first quarter, according to the analyst firm.
As manufacturers needed to replenish inventories, there was a strong recovery in retail sales, according to IDC, with firms able to offer better pricing as exchange rates improved.
"After a year and a half of sales decreases, the PC market returned to growth in the second quarter. The main factor for this was the dollar's stability [in relation to the Brazilian real], since the vast majority of the equipment components are imported," says research analyst at IDC Brazil, Peter Hagge.
Out of all units sold, 436,000 were desktops, where sales grew by 10 percent, while 746,000 were notebooks (up 15 percent).
Some 800,000 machines were sold to final consumers (with sales up 12 percent), while the corporate market represents the remaining 382,000, which has seen a sales increase of 14 percent in Q2.
The average ticket was down 11.9 percent from R$ 2,782 ($839) in the first three months of the year to R$ 2,449 ($738) in the second quarter, according to the research.
Despite the return to growth in the second quarter, the market performance is still weak when compared to numbers from a year ago, when some 1.637 million units were sold, so a 28 percent sales decrease in relation to the sales figures for the same period this year.
According to IDC, while computers are still crucial for the production of content, strong competitors such as smartphones, tablets and TVs take priority in terms of devices for content consumption.
In addition, the analyst firm links the low investment in PCs within the enterprise space to unemployment - which has reached a four-year high to 11.3 percent in the second quarter, according to Brazil's National Statistics Agency.
IDC predicts a five percent growth rate for the Brazilian PC market for 2016, with 4.6 million units sold.