APeJ is now the largest inkjet market in the world by shipment volumes

According to the latest IDC Asia Pacific Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, 7.84 million hardcopy peripherals shipped in Q217 for the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan (APeJ). Inkjet and laser unit shipments both expanded during the quarter, growing 2.2% and 4.9% year-on-year (YoY) respectively. For the first time, APeJ had surpassed the US to become the No. 1 inkjet market in the world in terms of shipment volume.

Mainland China was a strong contributor to APeJ becoming the top inkjet market in the world, IDC said, with strong growth in the volume of inkjet shipments from the 6.18 online shopping festival. The country posted 17.8% YoY growth. Shipment volumes for laser printers stayed strong in China due to the rapid expansion of the small and medium-sized business (SMB) segment.

The Southeast Asia sub-region, which currently contributes the highest inkjet shipment volume in APeJ, continued to see a strong shift from ink cartridges to ink tanks in Q217. This shift is brought upon by the low cost per page benefit of ink tank and aggressive promotions from vendors. In fact, the ink tank to ink cartridge ratio in Q217 reached an all-time high, crossing the 50% mark to make Southeast Asia a truly ink tank dominant market.

Source: IDC. The top hardcopy peripherals brands in APeJ.

India had suffered a decline in both inkjet and laser in Q217, declining by -6.8% and -3.8% YoY respectively. This was largely due to market apprehension on the impending implementation of goods and services tax (GST). There was a high level of destocking in the channels, which refused to take in any further shipments from vendors in order to avoid a high level of leftover stock when GST kicked in.

“Taking over US in terms of inkjet unit shipment this quarter shows that the demand for inkjet in the region is becoming stronger than ever. Concurrently, we are also seeing an increase in demand for ink tank printers as the ratio for ink tank versus ink cartridge had reached an all-time high of 38%. More businesses are buying ink tanks to take advantage of the low printing cost,” says Yexi Liao, Market Analyst of IDC Asia/Pacific’s Image Printing and Document Solutions (IPDS) team.

“The laser market also see a stronger growth within higher value speed segments of 30+ ppm (printer per minute), as some vendors are struggling with profitability within the low-end speed segments of 1-30 ppm and want to shift up in order to help them protect their profit margin,” according to Liao.

Key highlights and upcoming trends for the APeJ hardcopy peripherals market in Q217 include:

The top five hardcopy peripherals companies account for 81% of the market. The dominance of main players is expected to continue.

The inkjet market continues to shift more towards ink tank-based printers. Ink tank printers recorded 17.2% growth YoY in Q217. The growth is largely due to the consumer and SMB segments, which are more cost-conscious and prefer the low cost per page benefit that ink tank technology can provide. ASEAN remains the top market for both inkjet and ink tank printers.

The laser market in APeJ continues to outperform the rest of the world. Propelled by the growing demand for print devices in China, APeJ recorded the highest YoY growth rate in the world for the fourth consecutive quarter for laser printers.

Online sales is at an all time high as well. Due to the 6.18 online shopping festival and the strengthening partnership between vendors and key etailers such as JD.com and Tmall, online purchasing continued to expand outside of consumer segment; channels are shifting to make their purchases online due to the low product pricing and ease of delivery provided by the etailers.

Mature markets continue to shift away from print. Mature markets such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and Korea all continued to show declines in overalls shipment in Q217 as a result of digitisation and the high adoption rate of smart devices in these markets.