Thursday, March 28, 2024

Elections fail to shore up printing-related spending in PH — IDC

Elections-related spending in connection with the lead up to the May 2016 national polls failed to shore up the printer market in the Philippines in the first quarter of 2016.

PH print

According to IDC’s latest Hardcopy Peripherals (HCP) and Consumables Trackers, the Philippine printer market declined in shipment terms in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period last year.

Inkjet and laser machines fell year-over-year (YoY) by 1% and 7%, respectively, while the total consumables market declined by 4% YoY.

National elections in the Philippines were considered a growth accelerator for multi-function peripherals due to increased printing activities for campaign-related paraphernalia.

In the last national elections in 2010, IDC reported that the 2010 Q1 printer shipments reached over 218,000 units, an 8% growth YoY.

But, elections no longer serve as a growth driver for the printer market as this year 2016 Q1 shipments closed at almost 187,000 units only, which is 3.2% lower versus the previous year.

“Moreover, the printer market in 2016Q1 was also heavily weighed down by lower consumer spending for peripherals as a post-holiday effect, lack of substantial promotions, major government as well as the enterprise deals for most vendors,” said Nicolo Santos, market analyst for imaging, printing, and document solutions (IPDS) at IDC Philippines.

“Additionally, the consumables market has been declining in performance of third-party vendors in spite of growing OEM inks and toners shipments due to intense price competition, quality issues, and lack of major promotions among third party players,” added Santos.

Santos said the printer market did not achieve major gains from the election season possibly due to increased usage of multimedia platforms such as social media and TV ads instead of print materials, which was a common practice in previous polls.

IDC said that the shift to multi-media ads on television and social media has changed the landscape of Philippine elections. Candidates and netizens alike leveraged on social media to take advantage of its accessibility and worldwide reach.

There were approximately 35 million election-related tweets posted on the Twitter since the start of the year, over 4 million of which were posted on election day itself.

Despite the slowdown during the first three months of the year, IDC forecast that the printer and consumables market in the Philippines will bounce back in the coming quarters, helping it achieve growth by the end of the year.

“Toward the end of 2016, the total HCP market is expected to grow by almost 5%. Growth will mainly be driven by increased government spending in line with the new administration,” Santos said.

Purchasing of new machines is expected to increase toward the second half of the year, according to the analyst firm.

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