Desktops and Notebooks Drive Q1 2026 Growth

London, 7th May 2026 - According to market insights from global market intelligence firm CONTEXT, Europe’s retail technology market saw consumers increasingly prioritise high-performance PCs in Q1 2026, with desktop and notebook categories emerging as the strongest retail growth drivers across the region.

Across the six largest European retail markets, Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain and Poland, retailers recorded significant growth in premium computing categories as shoppers focused spending on more powerful and longer-lasting devices amid continued pricing volatility and rising component costs.

Desktop revenues across the region increased by 18.9% year-on-year, led by Poland (+68%), Spain (+36.5%) and Germany (+32%). France stood out for notebook performance, with revenues up 28.5%, while Germany also recorded strong notebook growth of +19.6%.

“The retail market is increasingly being driven by consumers investing in performance-focused computing devices,” said James Bates, senior retail analyst at CONTEXT. “Across several European markets we are seeing demand shift towards higher-specification desktops and notebooks, particularly as consumers look for devices that can better support AI-enabled applications, gaming, content creation and long-term productivity.”

The quarter also highlighted the impact of continued component price inflation on retail revenues. Storage categories benefited from higher average selling prices linked to NAND and DRAM cost increases, helping to boost retailer revenues across multiple markets.

Hard disk drive revenues increased sharply in Poland (+33.4%), Germany (+19.1%) and Spain (+19%), while memory card revenues rose strongly in Italy (+26.1%) and France (+19.4%).

“Retailers that have been able to maintain stock availability are continuing to benefit from higher-value sales across computing and storage,” James added. “Even where overall consumer demand remains cautious, premium segments are proving more resilient than entry-level categories.”

Regional retail performance remained uneven during the quarter. Poland and Spain emerged as the strongest growth markets, supported by substantial gains across core computing categories, while Germany maintained steady momentum across both notebooks and desktops. France showed a stronger transition towards premium notebooks, while Italy delivered more moderate growth centred around storage and peripherals.

The UK remained comparatively softer, with notebook revenues declining by 17.2% and desktop revenues falling by 10.9% year-on-year as consumers delayed purchases amid ongoing pricing uncertainty.

Meanwhile, smartphones continued to weigh on wider retail market performance. Smartphone revenues declined in the UK (-14.2%), Poland (-14.4%) and Italy (-7.2%), with Spain the only major market to record modest growth (+1.8%).

“We are seeing a clear reallocation of consumer technology spending within retail,” James said. “The automatic smartphone upgrade cycle is slowing, while higher-performance PCs are becoming the priority purchase for consumers looking to upgrade their home or work computing environment.”

About CONTEXT
CONTEXT is a B Corp certified provider of market intelligence and analytics for the global technology industry. The company works with leading manufacturers, distributors and investors to support strategic decision-making through advanced forecasting, analytics and data management. CONTEXT systems track more than £200 billion in annual technology sales transactions, supported by a global team of over 400 professionals operating in more than 35 countries.

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Funda Cizgenakad
T: +44 7876 616 246
E: Funda@contextworld.com