Every Wednesday our expert team of CONTEXT analysts provides valuable insights into the IT industry trends that are shaping channel businesses across Europe and beyond. The CONTEXT IT Industry Forum webinars serve as an excellent resource for accessing the latest market intelligence.

Among our highlights for July 2025 are good news for UK distributors and consumer monitor sales, and solid performance in June, driven by significant sales in personal systems.

Distribution dominates business PC sales in May

One of CONTEXT's key offerings is the Routes to Market service, which assesses the share of channel sales going through or bypassing distribution for key products and markets. The latest data from May reveals that 44% of PC sales are routed through distribution, consistent with figures from the previous month. In contrast, non-distribution sales (i.e. resellers) account for 37%, while direct vendor sales represent 18%. Notably, distribution plays a more significant role in the business PC segment, with 48% of sales made through distribution compared to 29% via resellers and 23% through direct vendor channels. Examining the data across the top four countries reveals a more complex landscape. Over the past year, France recorded an average of only 32% of sales flowing through distribution, largely due to large account resellers that tend to procure directly from vendors. In comparison, Italy shows a striking trend, with 71% of sales during the same period coming through distribution. This trend is driven by a robust SMB market that largely relies on distribution channels, making it more common for larger resellers to utilise these avenues for procurement.

Consumer monitor sales are on the up

Business investment in monitors is still not ramping up as expected, leading to a market primarily driven by consumer demand. Recent data from our Index Revenue Trend indicates a pickup in activity since Week 15; however, both consumer and business markets remain below the index baseline. A noteworthy development is the rising interest in docking monitors, which reached nearly 140 on the index by Week 26. Over the past year, we've observed a shift in purchasing behaviour, with consumers showing a preference for docking monitors due to their enhanced functionality in a single device format. In contrast, sales of gaming monitors are experiencing a slowdown as consumers are reallocating their budgets toward PCs instead of peripherals.

Distribution sales hit 4.9% in 2025-Q2 as personal systems soar

In June, revenue sales through distribution experienced a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 2.3%, reflecting a continuation of positive momentum for Q2, which saw an overall growth of 4.9% YoY. Although the growth rate in June was slower compared to the increases seen in April and May, the impact of personal systems remained significant. Notably, the refresh of Windows 11 notebooks contributed to a robust sales surge in this category, which recorded an impressive growth of 11.7% YoY. Infrastructure also performed well, with an increase of 4% YoY in June. However, other segments faced challenges, with telecoms experiencing a decline of 6.9% and software and services dropping by 0.4% during the same period. Regionally, the Nordics exhibited the highest revenue growth, achieving an impressive 21% YoY increase.

UK market resilient despite tough macroeconomic conditions

In April and May, the UK experienced a contraction in GDP for two consecutive months, primarily influenced by changes in business activity resulting from new tax policies and concerns surrounding potential US tariffs. Despite these challenging macroeconomic conditions, the country's distributors achieved a notable 6.5% YoY revenue growth in Q2, positioning them second only to Spain. Following a difficult 2024-Q4 and the first quarter of 2025, business growth has rebounded across all three distribution channels, contributing to an overall year-on-year growth of 4%. On the consumer front, significant growth is being propelled by retail chain sales, which saw an impressive increase of 34% YoY in Q2. A substantial part of this surge is attributed to the refreshes associated with Windows 11, alongside a major deal that led to a remarkable 246% YoY increase in sales of computing components in the same period.

Value drives impressive 2025-H1 growth

In the first half of 2025, value sales outpaced volume sales, primarily attributed to the software and infrastructure categories. Value sales experienced a year-over-year growth of 7.8%, while volume sales increased by 2.2%, with personal computers playing a significant role in this growth. Overall, the sales for the period reflected a year-over-year increase of 5%. Notably, software and services reported a growth rate of 11%, personal systems increased by 8%, and infrastructure sales rose by 7% YoY. Among the vendors, VMware emerged as a leader with an impressive growth rate of 80%. Additionally, Fortinet, Check Point, and Red Hat demonstrated considerable performance in the first half of 2025, each achieving revenue growth of approximately 20% year-over-year.

For more on these and other IT channel trends, tune into CONTEXT’s weekly IT Industry Forum webinars. Register here.