Sales revenue for consumer tech hardware devices peaked in 2021 with a record high, but since then, things have wavered. According to research by Stocklytics.com, a drop of $10 billion is expected in 2024 for the PC and smartphone sector. Why is this? A number of factors, including a shift away from hybrid and remote work, growing inflation, and supply-chain issues have compounded to create a gloomy market. There is light at the end of the tunnel, though, as there are some positive trends on the horizon. Here is some of the highlights from the data presented by Stocklytics.com:
The Second Revenue Drop Since 2020
During COVID-19, companies and consumers worldwide underwent a major technology refresh due to remote work and education, spending hundreds of billions of dollars on new tablets, laptops, and mobile phones. In 2020, the total spending on these devices amounted to $670 billion, according to a Statista survey. A year later, this figure jumped to $730 billion.
Still, the economic uncertainty and pandemic-caused layoffs triggered a huge spending drop in 2022, with total sales revenue falling by a massive $40 billion year-over-year, the biggest decline in years.
Although the market significantly recovered in 2023, with sales revenue rising to $720 billion, 2024 will see another downturn. While companies continue increasing their IT spending budgets, inflation has significantly crushed consumer purchasing power, with fewer and fewer people spending their available income on tech.
Statista expects global spending on PCs and mobile phones to drop by $10 billion or 1.8% year-over-year and hit $710 billion in 2024, marking the second annual revenue drop since 2020. Still, the negative trend is forecasted to change in the following years, with total sales revenue rising by 14% to $810 billion by 2028.
Falling Smartphone Sales Continues Pushing the Market in Red
And while the entire IT devices market is expected to end this year with a huge $10 billion revenue drop, most of that figure will come from the smartphones segment.
Despite the growth in emerging markets, global smartphone sales have been hugely impacted by component shortages, inventory build-up, and longer replacement cycles. These factors and the gloomy economic outlook resulted in a massive sales drop in 2022. That year alone, global smartphone sales plunged by $27 billion year-over-year to $454 billion. Although last year brought a recovery, with total sales revenue rising to $479 billion, that will change this year.
Statista expects global smartphone sales to plunge by $11.4 billion in 2024, the biggest decrease of all IT devices. In comparison, tablet sales are forecast to drop by $1.2 billion to $53.7 billion. Global laptop sales will hit $127.5 billion, or $100 million less than last year. On the other hand, desktop PCs are the only market segment expected to see a positive trend, with total sales revenue rising by $100 million year-over-year to $38 billion in 2024.
See also: Acosta Group: Top Five Retail Predictions For 2024
