• 2.5” External HDD continued its dominance with 93% market share.
• 3.5” External HDD shipments declined by 5% YoY.
• 2TB was the most popular capacity capturing 40% market share.
Gurugram/New Delhi, Dec 5, 2023: The Consumer External HDD market in India witnessed a significant year-on-year decline of 10% in Q3 CY2023, According to CMR’s India External Hard Drive Market Review Report for Q3 CY2023. The 2.5” External HDD maintained its dominance with a commanding 93% market share, while 3.5” External HDD shipments experienced a 5% YoY decline. The 2TB capacity emerged as the most popular choice, capturing 40% of the market.
According to Shipra Sinha, Senior Analyst – Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CyberMedia Research (CMR),“The surge in the adoption and popularity of SSDs has resulted in a notable shift in consumer preferences towards swifter and more resilient storage options. Simultaneously, the expansion of cloud storage services has emerged as a viable alternative to conventional physical storage devices. Growing affordability and the entry of new brands in the External SSD category have expanded the market, posing a challenge for External HDDs.”
Q3 CY2023 Highlights
Market Dynamics: The surge in SSD adoption and the growing popularity of cloud storage options have reshaped consumer preferences for storage solutions. The affordability and increased competition in the External SSD category have posed challenges for traditional External HDDs.
NAS Shipments: In Q3 CY2023, the overall NAS shipments recorded a 32% YoY decline, with 2Bay NAS leading as the preferred choice with 46% market share, followed by 4Bay NAS at 30%.
Market Leadership: Seagate and WD shared the top position in the overall External HDD market, each securing 41% market share. Toshiba claimed the third position with a 15% market share and a notable 10% YoY increase in shipments.
Capacity Trends: The 2TB capacity dominated the market with a 40% share, closely followed by 1TB with 36% share.
Future Trends
CMR anticipates a single-digit decline in External HDD shipments (2.5″ and 3.5″) by the end of CY2023. This projection is attributed to the advancements in SSD technology and increasing price competitiveness in the market.
As per Shipra, “The External HDD market is anticipated to experience a slowdown in Q4 2023 following the conclusion of the festive season. Additionally, the continuous expansion in market size and the influx of numerous brands into the SSD market will impede the future growth prospects of External HDDs. It is crucial for brands to differentiate themselves by offering unique and stylish External HDDs with essential features to sustain the dependency on them.”
Notes for Editors
1. Cyber Media Research (CMR) is a pioneering market intelligence and consulting firm that runs a comprehensive quarterly market update on the India Consumer Storage market. CMR’s India Quarterly Hard Drives Market Review covers External HDD, NAS, Surveillance HDD sold via distributors and retail outlets. The report accounts for ‘legal’ shipments, but does not include bundled or ‘grey’ market shipments or units brought from abroad by individuals as a part of personal baggage.
2. CMR uses the term “shipments” to describe the number of hard drive devices leaving the factory premises for OEM sales or stocking by distributors and retailers. For the convenience of media, the term ‘shipment’ is sometimes replaced by “sales” in the press release, but this reflects the market size in terms of units of hard drive devices and not their absolute value.
