Last year, sales rose by 26.3 percent, and Gartner expected sales to grow by 13.6 percent this year.
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High inflation and rising energy and fuel costs reduce consumers’ disposable income.
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This affects spending on electronics such as personal computers and smartphones, Gartner said. Next year, it expects sales to fall by 2.5 percent to $623.1 billion.
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“It could be worse, but we’re probably going to bottom out next year and then the recovery will start in 2024,” Gartner vice president Richard Gordon told Reuters.
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Higher demand for smartphones and personal computers during the pandemic led to a surge in interest in chips for the industry, causing chip shortages in other industries, rising prices and production delays.
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However, mobile phone sales are now expected to fall to 1.46 billion from 1.57 billion units this year.
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As millions of mobile phones disappear from the market, supply in the chip market will thus exceed demand. Chip prices tend to drop dramatically in that case, Gordon added.
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In the context of the chip shortage, the European Union and the United States have announced large subsidy programs to attract chipmakers such as Intel to build factories on their territory and reduce dependence on Asian suppliers.
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Some manufacturing companies that need chips are seeing semiconductor shortages ease. Among them are companies such as Hyundai Motor, Nokia and ABB. However, supply constraints still persist in some sectors.
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These include, for example, equipment for fifth generation (5G) networks. However, this market should also be in better shape in the first half of next year, Gordon added.
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