And not one word mentioned about what also contributed to the problems- the semiconductor shortage.
To be honest, it didn't stop people from buying, they just didn't necessarily but exactly what they wanted. There was a stage where a large distributor was being told that the laptops
currently en route to them are end of life due to a model change. This could be something as simple as swapping from Intel to Realtek for the Ethernet controller, but it resulted in a new SKU. As such, you might be in the market for model ABCDE12345 but have to go for ACCDE12345, or look at a different brand, but there was generally SOMETHING available. There were, of course, some exceptions.
My only input on the article is that, for the most part, the average computer customer isn't the same as let's say a decade ago or a decade before that.
It's very different. People think it's a get rich quick scheme, which is why so many popped up over the last few years. You can see they don't have a clue what they're doing - as an example, another "retailer" contacted us yesterday asking how to open a reseller account.
I had a look at their website, and can see they currently only have offerings from a single distributor. This particular distributor has recommended retail pricing on their portal, which has anything from around 7-20% margin added even on high-value items. This is already high, but the retailer that contacted us was adding more than 30% - greatly exceeding the already-high RRP. That points to not understanding the market (or what you're doing).
There are plenty of "retailers" that leave off information such as their address (required) or even T&Cs. There are plenty that are online-only but have completely broken websites. "Retailers" that expect the customer to handle the entire warranty process, including within the first six months, at the customer's full expense are a dime a dozen. All of this implies a "This will make me easy money" way of thinking.
This is indeed different from 20 years ago, where you generally went into the industry because you already knew it to some extent or another, and you had a passion for it.
It's great that there are still computer shops that'll provide insight, technical detail and deep dives for customers who desire that
I love the customer interaction, really I do. It not only keeps me sharp with constant questions outside of my general comfort zone, but I've also made several good friends this way over the last few years.
but sadly I'd guess most simply just want a computer that does x for a budget of y.
And that's where mass retail partially falls flat. You walk in with a budget of R 30k for a gaming PC and they push you to take the Acer 10th Gen i9/GT 1030 workstation they have in the storeroom for R 29,995 because the rep has heard "i9 is good for gaming, and so is NVIDIA," it fits your budget, and they've been tasked with getting it sold because it's been there for the last 4 years.
Mass retail will dominate for the "I need a computer to run Chrome, Excel, Outlook and Teams" sort of market, but as soon as there's anything REMOTELY specialized involved, the wheels come off. This is a growing market.
I challenge you to walk into any mass retail store and ask them for a PC for 4K video editing in DaVinci Resolve, or a graphics card to play Black Myth: Wukong at a constant 60 FPS and see the answer you get. I'm going to specifically exclude excessive over-spec'ing, as you can sell a 14900KS/RTX 4090 for almost anything.
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Pretty sure there's a more customer/marketing-friendly way of saying that.
