Education notebooks see strong decline in Q1 22 against high 2021 figures
London, 26th April 2022 - The volume of notebook sales in the education sector across Europe has declined sharply in the first 11 weeks of the year, although it remains higher than pre-pandemic levels, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.
The latest four-week rolling average figures for unit sales versus a year ago saw the performance dip to nearly -50% in some weeks of 2022 to date. However, that can be explained by strong growth a year ago: a number of weeks in Q1 2021 saw a year-on-year rise of +450% or more. The UK, Italy and Spain which drove the segment in the first two years of the pandemic continue largely to do so in 2022.
"Although we are seeing a number of local education projects and deals continue in markets such as the UK and Spain, gone are the large government frameworks that characterised the segment in the first two years of the pandemic", said Marie-Christine Pygott, senior analyst at CONTEXT. "In some countries, this has even led to an excess of notebook stock in the channel, particularly Chromebooks, as expectations of demand did not meet reality."
For the rest of the year, CONTEXT expects smaller projects will continue to roll out across the region. However, demand is less urgent, so 2022 performance overall in distribution will depend on whether we see any of those large government initiatives return.
"With students back in classrooms and the pandemic easing, we can expect performance lower than the first two years of the crisis, but still in excess of pre-pandemic figures", added Marie.
Across all verticals, the notebook category saw a slight uptick in revenue at the end of Q1, which is typical for a quarter end. However, the quarter has been a mixed one overall, with fluctuations in weekly performance driven by supply issues and slowing consumer demand. CONTEXT notes stock levels rising and supply issues are improving. But often stock is spending a long time in transit, so when it does arrive it is old. Component shortages also remain.
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EDUCATION NOTEBOOKS |
|
|
|
Early Q1-21 (first 12 weeks) |
Early Q1-22 (first 12 weeks) |
|
Country |
Y/Y volume change |
Y/Y volume change |
|
Total |
348.7% |
-26.2% |
|
United Kingdom |
276.3% |
-32.2% |
|
Spain |
2,184.7% |
-30.9% |
|
Italy |
428.1% |
-39.4% |
|
Netherlands |
121.5% |
-13.9% |
|
Belgium |
455.7% |
44.5% |
|
Germany |
500.8% |
-51.3% |
|
France |
389.3% |
99.0% |
|
Sweden |
-16.6% |
6.6% |
|
Portugal |
28.2% |
393.1% |
|
Poland |
452.9% |
-15.6% |
|
Finland |
1.9% |
15.1% |
|
Ireland |
71.6% |
5.0% |
|
Switzerland |
310.3% |
-21.4% |
|
Austria |
68.5% |
147.4% |
|
Czech Republic |
199.7% |
-25.4% |
|
Denmark |
61.7% |
-56.9% |
|
Norway |
-17.1% |
-59.2% |
|
Slovakia |
586.8% |
-72.0% |
About CONTEXT
CONTEXT's market intelligence, performance benchmarks and opportunity analysis empower clients to optimise operations and accelerate tomorrow's revenues. With over 35 years of industry partnership and experience reporting on large datasets, CONTEXT delivers analytics at all points in the value chain, providing clients with actionable insights rooted in concrete data and a profound understanding of customer needs. CONTEXT is headquartered in London, with over 300 staff across the world and in 2019 was recognised as one of the UK's Best WorkplacesTM by Great Place to Work®.
Press Contact
Funda Cizgenakad
T: +44 7876 616 246
E: Funda@contextworld.com
