IDC Finds Hungary’s Printer Consumables Market Stabilized in 2H2013

International Data Corporation (IDC) reports the Hungarian market for consumables became steady in the second half of 2013 after a long period of shrinkage. The industry research group says the market was generally price-sensitive with fierce competition from compatibles and refilling services. In the inkjet consumables segment, the average sales price declined by 17.1% in 2H2013.

Laszlo Toth, Research Analyst at IDC Hungary, comments, “The extremely low price tags clones carry, often as low as one-tenth of an OEM consumable recommended retail price (RRP), seem to outweigh the possible risks for a growing number of customers. This explains why they could already represent some one third of compatible shipments to Hungary.”

Toner sales continued to gain market share while ink consumables’ share continued to decrease to 55.5% from 57.3% compare with the same period last year.

Moreover, IDC revealed that cheap, new-build compatible products, especially clones, rapidly gained market share, posting threats to OEM vendors and local remanufacturers.