A rush to buy personal computers (PCs) before they get more expensive helped India’s PC market maintain its growth momentum in the June quarter. PC shipments rose 12.1% year-on-year to 3.9 million units in the June quarter, with the buying rush helping the market post steady growth even as underlying consumer demand remains relatively soft, according to an IDC report.

Commercial shipments grew 16.6% to 2.2 million units, ahead of the 6.6% growth in consumer shipments to 1.7 million units.

The buying came as PC makers faced higher costs for key components, especially memory. Retailers and online sellers built stocks ahead of expected price increases, while also preparing for the Independence Day sales and the festive season, said the report.

“Despite signs of moderating end-user demand, channel partners and e-tailers continued to build up inventory aggressively through the quarter,” said Bharath Shenoy, research manager, Devices Research, IDC.

Notebooks continued to drive the market, with shipments rising 14% year-on-year. Workstations grew 11.2%, while desktops returned to growth, rising 7.7%.

In terms of price bands, the premium market grew much faster. Shipments of notebooks priced above $1,000 jumped 78.7%, while AI-enabled notebooks more than doubled, growing 109.9%.

HP remained the largest PC maker with a 29.4% share, followed by Lenovo at 20.3% and Acer at 14.8%. Dell was the fastest-growing among the top five, with shipments rising 40.3% and its share increasing to 14.1%.

Apple also recorded strong growth, with shipments rising 89%. IDC attributed this partly to the MacBook Neo, launched towards the end of the March quarter, as well as better availability and relatively competitive pricing.

The strong June quarter, however, can make the rest of the year harder. Buyers who stocked up early may have less reason to purchase later, while higher prices could push consumers to delay upgrades.

IDC expects consumer demand to slow in the second half, while commercial demand is likely to remain broadly flat. Retailers will also need to sell the inventory built up in recent quarters before placing fresh orders.

This could have an impact on shipments from the fourth quarter, with IDC expecting the market to come under greater pressure into 2027 as enterprise buying normalises and higher prices delay purchases by small businesses.