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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSouth African tech distributors Esquire and Pinnacle ICT have warned of substantially higher tech prices in 2026 that may never drop to previous levels due to the global memory supply crunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Esquire CEO Mahomed Cassim told MyBroadband the rapid expansion of AI-focused data centres, especially in the U.S., was leaving little for the traditional commercial and consumer markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“These facilities are consuming enormous volumes of DRAM, SSDs, and high-capacity hard disk drives, with stock being purchased and deployed at scale,” Cassim said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The increased competition for memory-related components has resulted in sustained pricing pressure throughout the supply chain.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cassim said that manufacturer-level increases in DRAM and NAND pricing, combined with constrained allocations and longer lead times, have translated into higher landed costs for distributors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Esquire absorbed some of the increases for stock arriving in December and early January, but a portion has inevitably been passed on to the local market with new stock in late January and February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While new pricing varies by brand and configuration, Esquire estimated that memory components like RAM, SSDs, and hard drives are averaging at 25% to 40% higher than last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Notebooks and desktops are approximately 15% to 25% more expensive, while servers and enterprise systems have about 20% to 40% higher price tags. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pinnacle brand director George Moss said that certain brands had experienced price increases of up to 260% over a four-month period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Others are only beginning to implement increases that are expected to continue, particularly within the PC segment,” he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moss believes the industry has not yet seen the peak of the increases. “Current indicators suggest that further price escalations are still ahead rather than behind us,” he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Esquire general manager Kabir Ismail said that high-performance and higher-capacity configurations were particularly affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“These are the same components being prioritised for AI and hyperscale data centre deployments,” Ismail said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Entry-level products have generally experienced smaller increases, while premium and performance-oriented products have seen the sharpest rises.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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