W. European monitor sales are up by a record 35% Y-o-Y in March 2020, Context reports, leading to an overall increase of 18% Y-o-Y for Q1 2020, as the current pandemic crisis drives a need for better hardware.
Such results are beyond the expectation of analysts, even those who expected monitor sales to grow in H1 2020. The 2nd half of February saw distributors increase orders as customers prepared for future product shortages, understandable considering the shuttering of many factories in China. Eventual lockdowns in most European countries led to many employees to start working home, leading to a surge in demand for desktop monitors, as well as PCs and computing accessories.
School closures also drove consumer sales, since many parents realised they had to share equipment with suddenly home-schooled children. Moreover demand for monitors remains high in the public sector, specifically for hospitals and government departments, despite the economic turmoil brought about by the virus. As a result, the sales of both business- and consumer-targeted monitors is up by 18% Y-o-Y in Q1 2020.
Context says the biggest change in monitor demand came in week 12 of the pandemic, particularly in the UK and Germany. The two countries see respective monitor sales grow by 66% and 48% Y-o-Y on March 2020. Meanwhile distributors in France and Italy saw demand slow down in March, leading to respective declines of -15% and -12% Y-o-Y for the month. Sales continued to boom in Spain, reaching almost 30% Y-o-Y in both February and March.
Many industries see a surge in online sales, something wholly understandable considering the restriction of consumer movement and store closures due to the lockdowns. Total monitor sales to e-tail increased more quickly than those to other channels, and growth for Q1 2020 as a whole is 33% Y-o-Y.
However such surging demand comes with a downside-- very low inventory levels. Combined with supply disruption, such a situation can lead to weaker sales over the coming weeks and, potentially, an impact on May sales. The situation might be different if supplies reach normal levels while demand from both private and public sectors remain high, with recovery by the end of Q2 2020 continuing into Q3.
