Printer Shipments Drop in Brazil

A massive decline of almost 37 percent was experienced in the number printers being shipped in Brazil during 2016. The economic instability of the country is being blamed as well as the increasing maturity of consumers.

According to research by IDC, 1.4 million inkjet printers were sold last year representing a drop of 27%. However, only 400,000 laser printers were sold with sales down by 36.3%. Total printer sales recorded a 23% decrease with $522 million in revenue to manufactures for the second year in a row—with the decrease being 22.8% in 2015.

“As the Brazilian printer market is already mature, the largest purchase volume is no longer for basic roll-outs, but for upgrades. In 2016, with the political and economic crisis, final consumers and especially companies reduced investments and did not update their equipment,” said IDC Brazil’s analyst Sergio Teixeira.

However, IDC predicts “smart multifunctional” printers should see an increase in sales during 2017 as they are more suitable for corporates, as organizations expect to see data capture and data transfer features in printing equipment.

“The Brazilian [user] is more demanding and is looking for solutions that result not only in cost efficiencies but productivity. That’s why ‘smart’ models should stand out”, says the IDC analyst.