UK PC prices balloon 42 per cent thanks to Brexit and components shortages

Average selling price through distribution hit £475 in early Q2, a up from £335 a year previously, well above average rise seen across western Europe, according to Context

UK PC prices have shot up by over 40 per cent in the last year due to the weakening pound, component shortages and a shift towards higher-value products.

The average selling price for PCs among UK distributors hit £475 in April and May, up from £335 a year earlier, according to analyst Context.

That represents a 42 per cent hike - significantly more than any other country in western Europe, where PC ASPs rose by an average of 19 per cent.

Across Europe, the increase has been driven by currency fluctuations, price increases by vendors to offset the effects of higher component costs, and a shift to higher-value products, Context senior analyst Marie-Christine Pygott said.

But the UK increase was well above that of Germany, at 12 per cent, and France, at seven per cent, thanks to a spate of Brexit-fuelled price increases in Q3 and Q4 last year.

Spain and Italy saw ASPs hike 11 and 10 per cent in the quarter. Other than the UK, the highest increase was seen in Sweden and Poland, at 18 per cent.

"When you look at the other [European] year-on-year increases they are quite a bit lower, so it's reasonable to assume the UK increase would have been lower had it not been for the exchange rate impact," Pygott told CRN.

UK end-users may not have seen the full impact of the 42 per cent hike, with the supply chain likely to have absorbed at least some of it, Pygott said.

"We have seen vendors trying to de-spec products to offset the rising cost of components," she added. "The price increases may be less visible to consumers, but they will still be there in terms of an indirect increase."

A shift to higher-value products, such as gaming systems in the consumer segment, and high-end notebooks in the commercial space, has also contributed to the rise, according to Context.

And yet rising ASPs haven't yet had a big impact on UK PC sales, Pygott added.

"In Q4 and Q1 in the UK volume sales did go down but actually revenues rose because of higher ASPs," she said.

"Early Q2 has been pretty week in terms of both volume and revenue performance, but then April had fewer trading days due to Easter. We will wait to see how June pans out to see if it offsets this."