Europe retail tech shifts to higher-performance PCs

CONTEXT said Europe's retail technology market shifted towards higher-performance PCs in the first quarter, with desktops and notebooks driving retail growth across the region.

Across Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain and Poland, demand strengthened in premium computing categories as consumers directed spending towards more powerful devices with longer replacement cycles. The data also showed a market shaped by pricing volatility and higher component costs.

Desktop revenues across the six largest European retail markets rose 18.9% year on year. Poland led with a 68% increase, followed by Spain at 36.5% and Germany at 32%.

Notebook sales also strengthened in several of the region's biggest markets. France recorded a 28.5% rise in notebook revenues, while Germany posted growth of 19.6%.

James Bates, senior retail analyst at CONTEXT, said the shift reflected a change in how consumers were allocating their technology budgets.

“The retail market is increasingly being driven by consumers investing in performance-focused computing devices,” Bates said.

“Across several European markets, we are seeing demand shift towards higher-specification desktops and notebooks, particularly as consumers look for devices that can better support AI-enabled applications, gaming, content creation and long-term productivity.”

Storage prices

The quarter also highlighted the effect of component inflation on retail revenues, particularly in storage. Higher average selling prices linked to rising NAND and DRAM costs lifted revenues in several markets.

Hard disk drive revenues rose 33.4% in Poland, 19.1% in Germany and 19% in Spain. Memory card revenues increased 26.1% in Italy and 19.4% in France.

Those figures suggest retailers with stock on hand were better placed to benefit from higher selling prices in parts of the market where shoppers continued to spend.

“Retailers that have been able to maintain stock availability are continuing to benefit from higher-value sales across computing and storage,” Bates said.

“Even where overall consumer demand remains cautious, premium segments are proving more resilient than entry-level categories.”

Uneven market

Performance across Europe remained mixed. Poland and Spain were the strongest growth markets, supported by gains across core computing categories, while Germany maintained steady growth in desktops and notebooks.

France showed a stronger shift towards premium notebooks. Italy posted more moderate growth centred on storage and peripherals.

The UK was weaker than other major markets. Notebook revenues there fell 17.2% year on year, while desktop revenues dropped 10.9% as consumers delayed purchases amid pricing uncertainty.

Smartphones remained a drag on the broader retail technology market. Revenue fell 14.2% in the UK, 14.4% in Poland and 7.2% in Italy, while Spain was the only major market to post growth, with a modest 1.8% increase.

The contrast between weaker handset sales and stronger PC demand points to a reordering of consumer priorities in electronics retail, with spending shifting away from routine phone replacement and towards larger-ticket computing products.

“We are seeing a clear reallocation of consumer technology spending within retail,” Bates said.

“The automatic smartphone upgrade cycle is slowing, while higher-performance PCs are becoming the priority purchase for consumers looking to upgrade their home or work computing environment.”