MANILA, Philippines -- Sales of tablet computers in the Philippines for the first four months of the year were the second highest in the region, with low-end models primarily driving growth according to Germany-based research firm GfK.
In a research report for January to April, GfK said that the fastest growing market in the region was Vietnam with 151 percent year-on-year growth, followed by the Philippines and Indonesia with similar 82 percent growth rate. Indonesia, however, remained as the largest market with 1.45 million units equivalent to about $252 million accounting for nearly half of total sales in the region.
Overall tablet sales in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand) reached over 3.6 million for the reviewed period. Valued at $395 million, the unit sales were up 8 percent compared to the same period last year.
Gerard Tan, GfK account director for Digital World, noted that the Thailand market went down due to political unrest, though sales are expected to normalize 'once the situation stabilizes.'
GfK also said that there was an 'influx of entry level media tablets costing less than $100 (about P4,386) in the region.' The number of brands also increased from 84 last year to 143 in the highly competitive market. Thailand had the largest number of low-cost media tablet brands available at 53, followed by the Philippines with 39.
'Media tablets were able to reach a wider range of consumer groups as prices fell below $100 and became much more affordable and attainable to those in the less affluent developing markets,' said Tan. 'Concurrently, GfK tracking this year revealed average prices of the device falling to $278, which is a substantial 25 percent lower than last year.'
GfK said that tablet market growth was primarily dominated by media tablets priced below $300, which made up more than 3 in every 5 sold (63 percent), a considerable increase to last year's 38 percent. Within this segment, those priced between $200-300 registered the most growth with 366 percent, higher than the below $100 models which expanded 214 percent.
'As penetration levels are still relatively low in SEA, there is still plenty of opportunities for existing and new manufacturers of media tablet to compete for a piece of the pie,' said Tan. 'With consumers now presented with more options of price ranges for the popular device, the adoption of media tablets in Southeast Asia will continue to see an upward trend for the rest of 2014.'
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