As parents get ready to send their children back to school three of the top notebook manufacturers have told ChannelNews that prices are set to rise in several product categories spanning monitors, notebooks, and workstations.
Also on the rise is storage and audio products.
Retailers have acknowledged that in 2022 prices across the board are set to rise with Big W claiming that prices will rise on average $320 per child.
In the technology category rising shipping costs and the high cost of components has contributed to the cost increases, with brands at CES 2022, telling ChannelNews that an across-the-board price rise of around 20% is tipped in the audio category.
Data from BIG W’s Back to School report, conducted by YouGov, found more than half of all parents will be investing in new technology for their children at the start of the new term.
the investment will span computers (35 per cent), headphones (23 per cent) and iPads (16 per cent) topping the list.
Last year, parents spent $284 on technology per child on average.
The bad news for retailers is that parents are looking to cut back this year by as much as 11%.
When it came to their overall budget on other essentials, they are tipping it to be down $66 from $592 to $526 on average per child.
Analysts claim this is because parents spent additional money during COVID lockdowns.
Both JB Hi Fi and The Good Guys have back to school stock and are giving parents discounts on several items despite price increases.
JB Hi-Fi has Chromebooks for under $300, tablets for younger students under $200 and laptops for older students from $499.
“There’s a lot to consider when buying, like what size screen a child needs, battery life is often overlooked … weight, dimension and will it fit in their backpack,” a JB Hi-Fi spokesperson said.
“There’s certainly stock available now. We’ve worked very hard to make sure that we’ve got a really good range.
“We also have huge volumes of sales on USB storage, it really is the new eraser.”
According to News Corp who conducted research among retailers Officeworks is offering Chromebooks under $400 and an iPad 9th Generation for under $500.
Officeworks Managing Director, Sarah Hunter, said they also offer a free online school list service to help parents, and will beat the price on identical items by 20 per cent.
They will also beat a lower-priced identical stocked item (which is not on the online list) by 5 per cent (including sale items).
BIG W’s Head of Commercial – Toys and Leisure, Christine Faulkner said the report reflects shoppers’ sentiment to avoid shopping at the last minute.
“They’ll be more cautious, reflecting the financial impacts of Covid-19, coupled with back-to-school shopping directly following the Christmas period,” she said.
