When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. At the same time, IDC predicts that the PC market could also shrink by 8.9 per cent during the year. Research firm IDC predicts that the average price of computers could rise by up to 8% in 2026 due to a global shortage of memory chips (RAM and NAND). The background is the sharp increase in demand for HBM memory for AI data centers, which is prioritized over the production of consumer memory, which is less profitable for manufacturers. Meanwhile, IDC predicts that the PC market could also shrink by between 2.4 and 8.9 percent in 2026 as a result of the shortage.

PC prices are going up due to a shortage of a number of components, and the situation isn't expected to change in the coming quarters. A shortage of DRAM, SSDs, batteries, and LCDs have conspired to drive up PC prices, Gianfranco Lanci, corporate president and chief operating officer at Lenovo, said during an earnings call on Thursday. It's difficult to pin a number on the price increase because of the number of PC configurations available. The cost of purchasing these components is going up, which is triggering PC prices to also rise, said Lanci, a PC industry veteran. The shortage of components like memory will continue, Lanci said.