The brightest spot in the overall worldwide hardcopy peripherals (HCP) market during the third quarter of 2012 (3Q12) was wireless devices, with its showing of 2% year-over-year growth in a challenging economic environment. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, total worldwide hardcopy unit shipments declined 12.7% year over year to nearly 27.4 million units, the fourth consecutive quarterly decline.

Technology Highlights

• Despite a contraction of 15% year over year, inkjet remains the dominant technology with 16.7 million units shipped and a 61% share of the total HCP market in 3Q12. The wireless inkjet segment in mature markets continued to exhibit growth, resulting in 1% year-over-year gain in the third quarter of 2012.
• Laser declined 8% year over year in 3Q12 to 9.6 million units resulting in a 35% share of the total HCP market. The wireless laser segment experienced year-over-year growth of 9% and 22%, respectively, in the emerging and mature markets.
• The monochrome laser market declined 9% year over year to 7.9 million units. This was the lowest year-over-year growth for monochrome laser in any quarter since 3Q08. The color laser segment declined 3% year over year to 1.7 million units in 3Q12.
• The wireless segment in mature markets outperformed emerging markets with 6% year-over-year growth versus a decline of 9%.

Vendor Highlights

HP – Despite year-over-year growth of –24.1% in 3Q12, HP remained the leading vendor in the total hardcopy peripherals market with 37.3% share, down from 42.9% one year ago. The vendor's wireless segment also experienced a year-over-year decline of 16%.

Canon – Canon strengthened its position in the number 2 spot with more than 5.7 million units shipped, resulting in an increased market share of 20,9%, up nearly 3 points from 3Q11. The vendor grew its wireless volume 48% year-over-year. Both emerging and mature markets exhibited strong gains in the wireless segment, with year-over-year growth of 64% and 46%, respectively.

Epson – Epson finished the quarter with 5.9% year over year growth, which was notable better than that of the top two players. With more than 4.1 million units shipped, Epson captured a 15.2% share of the total hardcopy peripherals market, up more than 2 points from a year ago. With 69% growth, Epson had the best year-over-year performance in the wireless segment. Similar to Canon, wireless volume in both the emerging and mature markets experienced significant year-over-year growths, 97% and 66%, respectively.

Brother – With a 10% year over year improvement in shipments, Brother’s 3Q12 performance was the best among the top 5 vendors. Brother captured 7% overall market share on 1.9 million units. Brother also did well in the wireless segment, posting 30% year-over-year growth.

Samsung – Samsung's share of the total HCP market slipped to 5.0% on shipments of nearly 1.4 million units in 3Q12, enabling it to remain a top 5 player. The vendor also enjoyed double-digit growth in wireless volume, with 48% year-over-year growth in the emerging markets and 55% in mature markets.

Worldwide Hardcopy Peripherals Shipments, Market Share, and Year-Over-Year Growth, Third Quarter 2012

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, November 2012

In addition to the table above, a graphic showing worldwide market share for wireless inkjet and wireless laser printers in both mature and emerging markets for the third quarter of the past four years is available at IDC.com. The chart is intended for public use in online news articles and social media. Instructions on how to embed this graphic can be found by viewing this press release on IDC.com.

U.S. Hardcopy Peripherals Shipments, Market Share, and Year-Over-Year Growth, Third Quarter 2012

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, November 2012

Notes:

• IDC tracks A2-A4 devices in the Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals
• Hardcopy Peripherals include single-function printers, printer-based multifunctional systems (MFPs), and single-function digital copiers (SF DC). Data for all vendors are reported for calendar periods.

About IDC Trackers

IDC Tracker products provide accurate and timely market size, vendor share, and forecasts for hundreds of technology markets from more than 100 countries around the globe. Using proprietary tools and research processes, IDC's Trackers are updated on a semiannual, quarterly, and monthly basis. Tracker results are delivered to clients in user-friendly excel deliverables and on-line query tools. The IDC Tracker Charts app allows users to view data charts from the most recent IDC Tracker products on their iPhone and iPad.

For more information about IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, please contact Phuong Hang (phang@idc.com).

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