The Australia and New Zealand PC monitor market posted a soft quarter in Q3, 2011, due to subdued sentiment and uncertainties arising from the global economic condition. Overall the ANZ PC monitor market recorded 578,000 unit shipments experiencing a double-digit drop by 22% sequentially according to IDC's Quarterly PC Monitor Tracker (Q3 2011).

"In line with seasonal trends, Q3 is traditionally the slowest quarter of the year in the consumer segment," says IDC Associate Market Analyst, Ivy Teoh. "Channel partners are holding back their stock intake given the slowdown in the consumer and SMB market. In addition, there was a delay in government projects that further amplified the drop.

"The continuous price competition and tightening of profit margins are pushing vendors to refocus from market share to profitability. That said, this shift of focus is clearly noticeable as vendors have been moving away from shipping 18.5"W size monitors which have had at least a 50% drop compared to the same period last year."

Despite the drop in the ANZ PC monitors market, LED backlight market share once again recorded a massive growth from the previous quarter taking up 63% of the overall market. For the first time in history, the New Zealand LED backlight market is now taking up more than half of the overall market, accounting for 63% unit share in Q3.

"A strong refresh to LED backlight PC monitors and a supply-side push by vendors will continue to drive the demand in this technology. IDC expects the LED backlight momentum in the ANZ PC monitors market will remain strong while the price remains competitive," says Teoh.

ANZ PC Monitor Shipments by Vendor, Q3 2011

Rank Vendor Q3 2011 Market Share

1 Dell 26%
2 Acer 17%
3 Samsung 13%
4 LG 10%
5 HP 9%
Others 25%

Source: IDC Asia/Pacific Quarterly PC Monitor Tracker, Q3 2011