With students and parents working from home, demand for laptops surge

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The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to another significant recession, but not all industries and markets are struggling. The PC market is one of the markets that is experiencing a high. In the last quarter, there was an exponential demand for laptops, desktops, and tablets for entertainment and work use. According to Stephen Baker, a consumer analyst for the NPD Group, sales of laptops are up by 20% to 40% every week.  

It is both component suppliers and manufacturers that can’t catch up with the needed volumes to meet the flood of students who rely heavily on their laptops. Schools, universities, and students are already feeling the shortage of new laptops and PC equipment on the market as demand is at historic high levels. 

This new demand, driven by schools and students, largely outnumbers the demand created by remote workers. According to Acer, they have orders for hundreds of thousands of new laptops only from Nevada and California. When asked about the mismatch between the supply and the demand and whether the supply is catching up with the demand, Gregg Prendergast, who is the president of Acer America, says, “Not even close.” 

However, it isn’t just the laptop makers that are under pressure to deliver more. Supplies of screens, batteries, processors, and other parts can’t match the newly created demand. Many schools own laptops and PCs that they often loan to their students, need these parts to be operational. 

Not having access to even cheap laptops and spare parts for both laptops and PCs can be very damaging to the educational system that is already under immense pressure. At the same time, while we are seeing the issue of virtual studying, we should mention that many students across America don’t have access to broadband internet. 

What do you think? Have you noticed any issues with securing laptops or other PC accessories? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Deep Ballu