Consumer Confidence Holds Steady as Printer Sales Dip in 3Q 2012, reports IDC

Kuala Lumpur, December 3, 2012 – The overall multi-function printer (MFP) and single-function printer (SFP) market experienced a severe decline of 25.5% in 3Q 2012 after it showed some positive indication of recovery in the previous quarter. The market registered a total of 249,563 units shipped in 3Q 2012 as compared to 334,923 units in the previous quarter. Out of the overall total, inkjet MFP and SFP registered a total of 166,504 units followed by laser MFP and SFP with 72,589 units and finally Serial Dot Matrix (SDM) with 10,470 units shipped. (Refer to figure 1 for percentage share)

The inkjet MFP and SFP market was affected most by the slowdown as majority of the inkjet MFP and SFP are consumer based models. The inkjet MFP market registered a QoQ decline of 31.1% registering 136,893 units and inkjet SFP suffered a decline of 40.0% with a total market size of 29,611 units.

On the other hand, the laser MFP market also recorded a decline of 19.7% on a QoQ basis with a total of 23,886 units shipped. However, the laser SFP market experienced some growth on a QoQ basis of 4.6% with a total of 48,703 units shipped in 3Q 2012.

Donovan Low, Associate Market Analyst for IDC's Imaging, Printing and Document Solutions research in Malaysia, says "The printer market has been hit hard by certain factors especially the slower government spending on printer hardware as well as the shift in consumer spending to other products like mobile devices and tablets which has seen growth in recent times".

"Business confidence has also reported to have declined as most vendors are now seeing less large scale tenders as before. On top of that the global economic woes have taken its toll and there is the ongoing uncertainty which continues to linger", adds Low.

FIGURE 1: 3Q 2012 Malaysia HCP Shipments

Source: IDC Asia/Pacific Quarterly HCP Tracker, 3Q 2012 

Note: Line printer shipments represented less than 1.0% of the total HCP market in 2011 and 2012.

The last three months of the year will be particularly slow for the printer market as traditionally it is a holiday period and most of consumer savings will be spent elsewhere.

"On top of that government spending will remain slow as ongoing plans and funds are allocated to the implementation of the upcoming general elections. The uncertainty is set to trickle down to private sector and consumer spending on printers as the market can expect several gloomy months ahead. In addition, the contraction of the global economy will likely decrease the overall spending and increase concerns", adds Low.

Considering all these factors, IDC expects a slight decline of 2.0% for the rest of 2012.