China PC monitor market needs more innovation

Beijing - According to data from International Data Corporation (IDC), a provider of of market services for the information technology industry, indicates that total China PC monitor market shipment reached 9.52 million units in 2013 Q1. In particular, bundled monitor shipment reached 3.72 million units, while the shipments of unbundled monitor reached 5.81 million units.

Gaowa Wulan, Research Analyst, Computing Systems Research, IDC China, says, "From the perspective of the IT market, the rapid development of tablet computers, notebooks and all-in-one machines has negatively impacted the PC monitor market, which, in particular, has witnessed a trend of negative growth since 2012 Q4."

Antonio Wang, Associate Director, Computing Systems Research, IDC China, explains, "In line with the government's call to make the society a thrifty and energy-efficient one, public sectors reduced policy spending, large enterprises put on hold their procurement plans, and the replacement cycle of PC monitors for residential use is extended. These negative factors contributed to the disappointing sales in the first half of 2013. However, with the advent of sizzling summer promotions, IDC forecasts that, in the second half of 2013, the sales of China PC monitor market will grow by 5.4% over the first half to $2.5 billion, and the shipments will be up to 20.24 million units."

In conclusion, in the face of negative factors facing China PC monitor market, manufacturers are building up their R&D investment and actively looking for emerging channels, in the hope of getting rid of the current difficulties. Gaowa Wulan expects the PC monitor market to manifest the following features in 2013:

1. Rapid and wide application of large-size monitors. Users getting preferring large-size digital devices, increasing demands, and PC monitor vendors' aggressive marketing efforts contributed to the rapid growth in the sales of 23 inch and above monitors. Internet cafes, government, education and hotels, account for the majority of large-size monitor adopters. IDC study shows that the market share of 23 inch and above monitors increased to 14% in 2013 Q1 from 9% in 2012 Q1. This figure is expected to exceed 27% by 2017, thanks to the continuous rapid growth in the sales of 23 inch and above monitors.

2. LED backlight will represent over 80% of the PC monitor market. The market share of LED light source products, which are widely recognized by users, is expanding gradually. CCFL backlight will be phased out. IDC forecasts that the market share of LED backlight products will increase by 23% year-on-year to 81% in 2013.

3. New technologies are emerging endlessly. As a result of monitor vendors' continuous R&D investments and sales efforts, LED, wide viewing angle, touch screen, 3D and smart screens have become key technical indicators when it comes to selecting monitor products, and are being increasingly accepted among users. In future, with the increasing user acceptance of new technologies, emerging PC monitor technologies, such as transparent panel, flexible monitor, 4K resolution monitor and cloud monitor, will trigger the technical innovation of the PC monitor market, helping the market navigate through difficulties.