Company News • 04.06.2012
Russia and CIS: Tablets penetrate IT sector
International, Information Technology
Over the last two years, tablet PCs have certainly made their mark on the Russian and CIS* IT sectors. In Q1 2012, 700% more units were sold on the Russian market compared to the same period in 2011.
In 2010, no significant tablet sales were recorded, however, this soon changed and throughout 2011 the demand for these products experienced a remarkable rise. This was primarily because of their user-friendliness, the ever-growing variety of models and the relentless growth of social networks, photo sharing applications and various cloud based services designed specifically for tablets. Based on the latest retail sales data, GfK expects tablet sales to show further increases in Russia for the remainder of the year.
In the Ukraine, 75,000 tablets were sold last year and results from Q1 show that 37,000 have already been sold this year, which translates to a growth of 1800% when compared to Q1 2011. Prices are becoming more attractive for the consumer as 52% of all tablets were sold in price classes below USD 500. Additionally, price erosion is being driven by aggressive market competition and the reduction of technical features (e.g. 3G/4G or double cameras).
In Kazakhstan, 18,000 devices were sold in 2011 and the sales volume in the first quarter of 2012 was equal to 14,000, an increase of almost 600% in comparison to Q1 2011. Despite this immense growth, the Kazakhstani market does not appear to be a high priority for certain brands, but with ongoing market growth, an increasing level of competition is expected in the near future.
*Commonwealth of Independent states
channels: IT hardware, tablet PC
