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Thailand: Pandemic a boon for computer sales
The ongoing pandemic is still driving demand for computers to support people working and studying from home while the recent weakening of the baht and supply shortage have pushed up the average price of computers by at least 10%, according to IT vendors.
They shared their views on the first day of IT fair Commart at Bitec, which runs until Sunday.
“We believe Commart in this last quarter will see a sales volume of 3 billion baht, down from 3.3 billion baht seen in the event held early this year, as the number of attendees is limited to comply with social distancing measures,” said Pornchai Jantarasupasang, deputy general manager of ARIP, organiser of Commart.
Strong demand remains in place for gaming desktops and notebooks.
Mr Pornchai said the absence of a Commart event in the previous quarter affected ARIP’s revenue but this was offset by the government projects the company handled.
Thaneth Angkasirisan, general manager for Indochina of Lenovo, the world’s largest PC maker, said Thailand’s IT market continued to grow this year, possibly at the same level seen last year, as demand for computers for hybrid work and learning remains strong to observe social distancing.
Shortage of computer components and the weak baht have driven up computer prices by 10% since the second quarter, he said.
At Commart, Lenovo has the Experience Zone showcasing devices that support hybrid work and learning.
Lenovo also experienced demand for computers among non-gamers who want to use high-performance computers for their work, he said.
The company also plans to organise an event to showcase Internet of Things (IoT) solutions in April next year that would support people’s remote work.
Takon Niyomthai, head of IT business development at Com7, a SET-listed IT retail chain, said there is a pent-up demand among consumers for new computers as the Commart event was not held in the mid-year due to the pandemic.
New technology from global computer processor makers in computers is now pushing up new demand, he said, adding demand for graphics cards is also on the rise for Bitcoin mining.
In the past few months, there has been a 10% rise in the prices of computer components and devices, said Mr Takon.
At this Commart, there is a discount of 3,000-4,000 baht for some flagship models as a promotion to stimulate demand among users.
According to Mr Takon, consumers also want tailor-made computers for gaming costing 50,000-60,000 baht and gaming notebooks costing 26,000-30,000 baht.
Gaming computer devices remain popular following strong demand among streamers and content creators.
The pandemic continues to fuel demand for computers, smartphones and tablets, which could drive Com7 revenue to reach an all time high in this last quarter, he said.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2221807/pandemic-a-boon-for-computer-sales