Brexit means more expensive PCs with computer prices rising by 30% since Britain’s decision to split from the European Union became official.
Distributor and PC seller analyst house Context found that the average sales prices of PCs, laptops, and workstations had hit £480 in July and August, up by nearly a third when compared to the same months in 2016.
The price hike can be attributed mostly to the weakened value of the pound, which tumbled after the results of 2016’s EU referendum saw a tiny majority of UK citizens vote to leave the EU.
However, Context senior analyst Marie-Christine Pygott explained that there are a few other factors that have seen PC prices climb. Shortages of core PC components such as RAM modules has had a bearing on prices, and lower volumes of PC sales has seen a shift towards retailers selling computers with jacked-up specs to increase sales price margins.
Pygott did highlight that the firing of Article 50, which puts the Britain on a two-year notice to negotiate a deal to leave the EU, and the affect it had on the value of the pound, had the largest affect on PC prices: “But it looks like the currency issues had the biggest impact.”
Both Microsoft and Apple increased the cost of their Surface Book and Macbook computers respectively last year after the referendum result, which saw some blame the Brexit decision for the hefty jump in cost. But our very-own tame Computing Editor Michael Passingham mused that the two tech giants simply don’t care about customers anymore.
Brexit negotiations are now fully underway, so there’s a chance that once the dust settles the cost of PCs may come back down again; alternatively the government could completely botch the negotiations and see the prices of PCs and other tech spiral upwards.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
