Consumers paying more for electronics as price of key components rises

Consumers are paying more for electronics as the price of key components continues to rise in line with demand for AI processors.

The Technology Users Association (TUANZ) chairperson Paul Littlefair said the rising cost of components was cumulative and adding to the overall cost of consumer electronics, which included everything from computers to household appliances.

Latest Stats NZ data indicated the price of small electrical household appliances, small tools and accessories, as well as personal care appliances had increased over the past few years, with the price for recording and media devices up 55 percent over the past five years.

National electronics retailer Noel Leeming said the price increases were widespread.

"Cost prices for technology products have been increasing globally, and New Zealand is not immune to those pressures," Noel Leeming chief executive Jason Bell said.

"While it's difficult to predict how the situation will develop, as the largest Kiwi-owned electronics retailer, we're doing everything we can behind the scenes to secure stock and keep pricing as competitive as possible for our customers."

Littlefair said there had been "huge jumps of hundreds of percent increases" for items such as internal computer hard drives.

"I think for consumers the big thing is probably memory and storage," Littlefair said.

"I was doing some research and one of the hard drive manufacturers, is stating that they are now only supplying about 5 percent of their hard drives to the consumer market, and 95 percent of what they manufacture is going to these large scale AI providers, so the normal supply and demand economics are kicking in.

"So you're probably going to see a 25 - 30 percent increase on your laptop that you saw at the beginning of the year, but if you want to go and buy a specific thing, like an external hard drive, then you might be paying double."

He said the best thing was to shop around.