AI, post-Covid work from home culture will reverse slump in world PC sales, Acer CEO says
- Acer chairman and CEO Jason Chen says a surge in PC sales during the pandemic means more than before will need to be replaced during the next refresh cycle
- Demand for chatbots, such as ChatGPT, will drive purchases of late-model PCs over the next few years, says the boss of the Taiwanese hardware and electronics firm
A post-coronavirus work from home culture and rising unit prices will stop the long slump in PC sales caused by weak consumer confidence, the head of the world’s sixth-largest vendor said this week during the Computex Taipei tech show.
Sales of laptops and desktops have declined over the past 12 months because inflation and interest rates combined to hurt consumer sentiment, Jason Chen, the chairman and CEO of Taiwanese hardware and electronics firm Acer, told the Post said on Wednesday.
But the surge in PC purchases during the pandemic for remote working and home study means more machines than before will need to be replaced during the next so-called refresh cycle, Chen said.
A refresh cycle usually refers to business replacement of hardware and software every three to five years.
From the macro level, inflation has triggered interest rates, and the interest rates have triggered [weaker] consumer confidence
“From the macro level, inflation has triggered interest rates, and the interest rates have triggered [weaker] consumer confidence, and because of that, the end-user demand made a drastic change about four quarters ago,” said 61-year-old Chen, who was appointed CEO in 2014.
Interest rates have risen as central banks tightened monetary policy to combat inflation, which grew in much of the world last year due to rising energy prices and shipping costs.
Working from home, however, shows no sign of disappearing despite the end of Covid-19 controls, Chen added.