Laptop sales are set to soar this Spring as the machines they bought for work through the first Covid lockdown reach the end of their shelf life.
PC sales spiked around the first restrictions in March 2020 as businesses rushed to support remote work for employees. Shipments grew to 275 million units that year, including 12.15 million PCs delivered to the UK — a 32.3% annual rise from 2019.
Laptops typically have a five-year lifespan after which they may deteriorate as devices slow down and become less able to run advanced applications.
Alongside the lockdown anniversary five-year mark, the IT remanufacturer Circular Computing believes the end of support for Windows 10 this October, and demand for newer AI-integrated devices will also spur businesses to update this year.
“Five years ago news of the first Covid restrictions and a global chip shortage sparked a pandemic buying spree as consumers and businesses rushed to get their hands on technology ahead of the national lockdown,” said CEO Rod Neale.
“Fast forward to 2025, and a lot of these devices bought for working from home will now look a little long in the tooth and may be starting to struggle on performance. Add on the sunsetting of the world’s biggest operating system, Windows 10, and the desire for AI and you have a recipe for another buying surge.”
In 2020, almost half of employees worked from home, with nearly nine in ten doing so due to the Covid rules. A legacy of the pandemic, latest figures show that two in five workers now do their job fully or partly at home, more than double the 17 per cent who did so in 2019 and matching the proportion who only commute.
With a large number of companies and households expected to trade-in their devices, 2025 also risks seeing a surge in unloved tech ending up in landfill. An estimated 240 million Windows 10 PCs could become e-waste when support ends of laptops aren’t traded in or recycled correctly.
Circular Computing is urging companies to buy remanufactured IT next time they upgrade, arguing that the remanufacturing option prevents about 316kg of CO2 emissions and delivers up to 40 per cent cost savings compared to brand new models.
“Whatever their reason for upgrading their tech this year, it’s time for companies to walk the walk rather than just talk the talk on sustainability,” said Neale.
“With the growing right to repair movement, as well as 2030 and Net Zero pledges looming over the horizon, ‘brand new’ is no longer a badge of honour.”
