ASUS recently announced it is gearing up to hike PC prices, with the increase set to be one of the largest in recent times, driven by DRAM shortages.
ASUS & Other PC Vendors Are Running Out Of Their DRAM Stockpile, Leading Them to Aggressively Hike Prices
The PC industry has been under pressure ever since memory shortages became prevalent, yet vendors have shown restraint in raising product prices, given that they had been relying on stockpiles built up over the previous quarters. However, given how difficult it has become to secure DRAM supply in recent times, vendors like ASUS, Acer, and others have no option but to raise prices, hoping to offset rising BOM costs. A report by UDN has disclosed that ASUS intends to hike PC prices by up to 30%, and while the rise is limited to Taiwan's consumer market, it could likely spread to other regions as well.
The report mentions that PC manufacturers are undergoing a difficult time in terms of maintaining supply chain elements, since not only are memory shortages biting into margins, but there have been other emerging problems as well, which include rising SSD prices, CPU and GPU shortages, which means that manufacturers have to navigate themselves in a complex scenario, in order to ensure that supply to the consumer markets is consistent. At the same time, to maintain margins, price increases have become an absolute necessity for firms like ASUS.
In a previous report, we discussed how the budget PC segment could almost 'disappear' in the coming years, given how the situation is evolving, and it is expected that PC market shipments could shrink by double digits this year as well. Considering that PC vendors have to maintain their businesses, the only viable strategy to sustain the shortages is to hike prices, which is what we are seeing. At the same time, ASUS, Acer, Dell, and many other vendors have diversified into becoming server ODMs to secure their share of the AI frenzy.
Manufacturers have been signaling to consumers to make PC purchases as soon as possible, suggesting this is the only way to mitigate the upcoming wave of price hikes. It would be interesting to see how the situation unfolds for the PC industry going forward, because as of now, there isn't much to rejoice about for gamers.
About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
