PCs are not being taken: laptop sales in Russia are falling, despite lower prices for them

Despite the decrease in the cost of laptops in the Russian Federation, their sales volumes are falling, market participants told Izvestia. According to them, in the first months of 2025, the sale of these gadgets decreased by 20-30%, and their prices by 10-20%. The decrease in demand affected the segment of 50-150 thousand rubles, which includes Apple laptops. The reason is an oversaturation of the market, a reduction in the availability of consumer loans and high interest rates on them, experts say. The prices are also affected by the depreciation of the dollar, the sellers add.

Why are laptops getting cheaper?

In Russia, the demand for laptops is decreasing, despite the fact that prices for them are also falling: sellers are trying to get rid of stale goods. Participants of the electronics market told Izvestia about this. In January-February of this year, compared to the last months of 2024, the cost of these gadgets, primarily expensive models (including Apple MacBooks), decreased by 10-20%, according to the manager of one of the manufacturers. According to him, the sales of laptops decreased not so much, by several percent. There is no landslide, as retail gets rid of goods that are not in demand, hence the price reduction, the Izvestia interlocutor points out.

Since the end of last year, there has been a drop in consumer demand for laptops, which leads to a decrease in the price of the product, confirms Irina Babina, head of the Notebook business at diHouse. The lack of economic stability contributes to this, in particular, the high key rate of the Central Bank, she argues.

"Users who do not have an urgent need to buy a laptop now have decided to postpone the purchase in anticipation of an improvement in the economic situation in the country as a whole," the expert believes.

In the "Connection.ON" confirms the decline in laptop prices that began in early 2025.

— In the spring off-season, laptop sellers are trying to support sales in conditions of high key interest rates and currency exchange rate volatility. This year, the decline in demand is more serious than usual," the company added.

The low availability of loans really affects the pace of laptop sales, the press service of M.Video-El Dorado". Buyers can postpone the purchase of equipment until the required amount is accumulated or give preference to cheaper models, representatives of the united retailer believe. At the same time, they claim that laptop prices in Russia have decreased slightly.

According to the company, by the end of 2024, the Russian laptop market grew by 8% in quantitative terms and by 31% in monetary terms. The top brands in terms of turnover include Digma, Hiper, OSIO, and Irbis. The average price for a Russian laptop was 44 thousand rubles.

The main reason for the fluctuation in sales and the cost of laptops is the gradual stabilization of prices after increased demand for them last year, according to Marvel Distribution. For example, in January and February 2024, sales volume increased by 9.3% in units and 28.9% in money compared to the same period in 2023, which also affected the average price, the company representative noted.

"Another factor is the impact of the continuing high key interest rate, which constrains consumer activity, especially for fairly expensive equipment," the company added.

However, not all market participants are noticing the decline in demand for laptops. Thus, the turnover of laptops on Wildberries in January-February 2025 increased significantly compared to the same period last year: an increase of 124%, according to a representative of the marketplace. At the same time, the average bill has actually decreased — by 17% in the "Laptops" category as a whole, and by 6% in the case of the Apple MacBook, he added. This is partly due to a shift in demand from models in top-end configurations towards simpler models and more budget-friendly brands.

The fact that some sellers and importers are talking about a significant decrease in laptop prices, while others are talking about a slight decrease, can be explained by the fact that prices are falling for suppliers who calculate in dollars: the selling price of their goods depends on the current exchange rate, said an employee of one of the trading platforms.

Which laptops are getting cheaper faster than others

Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group, also talks about the decline in laptop sales and prices. It is incorrect to compare sales in units at the end of 2024 with the beginning of 2025, at least due to the influence of seasonality on them, he believes. But in the first two months of 2025, compared to the same period last year, sales of laptops decreased by 26%, the expert claims.

If we talk about prices, then from December 2024 to mid-February 2025, the cost of many models decreased by 20-30%, the expert added. This is especially noticeable in the PC price segment of 50-150 thousand rubles, he noted.

— The reason for this is the extremely low demand for electronics due to the high cost of credit money and the fact that it is now much more interesting to place funds on a bank deposit than to spend them on gadgets. Sales are low, which means sellers are forced to give a discount in order to earn at least something and clear warehouses, the rental of which is an additional expense item," the expert added.

With the departure of major global brands, their recommended prices have also disappeared, and if so, consumers and sellers are completely disoriented, said Sergey Polovnikov, head of the Content—Review project. At the end of last year, Russians bought necessary and not quite necessary equipment, largely due to the volatility of the ruble, and this made it possible to sell it at inflated prices. But now the exchange rates of world currencies are declining, as well as the degree of this anxiety, as indicated by opinion polls, Sergey Polovnikov points out. Because of this, the high demand has subsided, and sellers are trying to stimulate it with discounts, he explained.

However, buyers who are now looking more rationally at their needs and pricing are in no hurry to use them and are waiting: if prices have decreased by 20%, then maybe they will decrease by 40%, the expert believes.