Fewer than 3 million notebooks and desktop computers were shipped to Russia in the fourth quarter of 2012, a 19 percent decline compared with the total from the same period the previous year, data from analytics company Gartner show.
The supply of notebooks declined 32 percent to 1.7 million units, while the market for desktop computers saw a 4 percent increase, Vedomosti said Tuesday. The current dynamic is a reversal of the growth trends of previous quarters.
Computer purchases by individuals dropped 35 percent, whereas sales to corporate clients were down just 2 percent, the report said.
In 2012, shipments of computers to Russia increased 11 percent and reached 13.6 million units, Gartner said.
Data from IDC, another analytics company, corroborate Gartner's findings. About 3 million computers were sold in Russia in the fourth quarter of 2012, a decline of 23 percent over the same period the previous year. Sales of notebooks dropped almost 32 percent, while sales of desktop computers were down 8 percent, IDC said.
Vasily Mochar, deputy director of local analytics company ITResearch, said overstocking by distributors during the summer could have affected subsequent orders, resulting in the stagnation of the Russian computer market for the first time since 2009. The results of that mistake will be felt until the summer, Mochar said.
