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Technology

Reason for Sudden Spike in Laptop Prices

PUNJAB NEWS EXPRESS | February 22, 2021 01:46 PM

If you were contemplating purchasing a new laptop last year during the pandemic, you would have been left perplexed and bemused, and for a valid reason. The cost of laptops spiked, with some models seeing an increase of almost 30 percent! Laptop manufacturers were also left in a limbo because of the pandemic, as their shipments stalled for a number of weeks. 

While things have since returned to relative normalcy (or what can be considered close to being normal) with respect to laptop shipments, consumers are still left wondering just why the laptop prices increased during the pandemic. 

There are a couple of reasons for this anomaly. However, before we delve into those reasons, we have to provide the context, and talk about the circumstances that led to this increase in laptop price. We witnessed the worst disease outbreak of our lifetime last year, which sent the global economy into a tailspin. 

Industries and businesses were temporarily shut down, and for a few weeks, the world came to a standstill. This also meant that laptop brands couldn’t ship their units for weeks, which inevitably hurt their bottom line. The pandemic also impacted our day-to-day lives and activities, and we are now living in what experts predict to be the “new normal”. 

With that serving as the setting, let us now look at a couple of reasons why laptop prices increased over the last 12 months. 

Online classes and WFH requirements 

During the pandemic, students have had to rely on their gadgets for their education, while working professionals have been asked to stay at home. That does not mean their work became any easier. In fact, most of the working professionals would attest to the fact that their working hours and work schedule have only become more hectic. But that also meant that both students and working professionals had to rely on laptops, something that wasn’t as universal before. 

This led to a surge in demand for budget-friendly laptops last year. At the height of the pandemic, and when the government imposed stringent lockdown regulations, people had no choice but to arrange for a laptop. While it initially began with soliciting laptops from their colleagues, friends and family members, it quickly became obvious that this arrangement wouldn’t be sustainable. This led to a massive demand for budget-friendly and refurbished laptops. 

Supply couldn’t meet the demand 

This surge in demand resulted in laptop brands not being able to meet the sheer volume of laptops required by individuals and business entities. Even Apple came out last year, and revealed that it couldn’t cater to the massive demand for MacBooks during the lockdown period. Other laptop brands also faced similar issues, which resulted in laptop prices witnessing an upward movement. 

The refurbished laptop prices in India, for instance, grew almost 30-40 percent during this period. Laptop brands also had to hike the laptop prices, which is inevitable in a market where there is a stark disparity between demand (exceedingly high during the pandemic) and supply, with the supply chain also getting disrupted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

That said, the entry of Mi into the laptop marketplace eased some of this burden. Xiaomi, which completely altered the smartphone landscape when it entered the Indian market, now looks set to disrupt the laptop industry. In fact, one of the best laptops under 50000 INR today belongs to Mi, with the brand unveiling the Mi NoteBook 14 Horizon Edition. The laptop is powered by the Intel Core i5 processor, and boasts of SSD + HDD hybrid storage, while sporting an elegant look. 

Whether you want to purchase the latest Mi laptop, or a different model from your favourite brand, you can do so easily by using the Bajaj Finserv EMI Network Card. You don’t have to pay anything upfront. Convert the cost of the laptop into easy EMIs by using the EMI Network Card, and pay over flexible tenors ranging from 3 - 24 months.

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