The prevalence of COVID-19 is changing our life and our way of work. With the continuation of remote work and learning, home office equipment achieved good sales results last year, and the same is true in foreign markets.
Recently, IDC released a sales survey report on printers and related products in the European market. The report shows that in the digital age, printers are still very important products for enterprises and home users. During the pandemic, the shipment volume of laser equipment in Europe increased by 5.5%. The shipment volume of inkjet printers increased by 5%, with consumer products growing by over 10%. However, the shipment volume of A3 equipment has decreased by 12%, mainly due to the closure of office spaces.
According to IDC's analysis, the main demand in the European printer market currently comes from home office and home education, which stimulate the low-end inkjet and monochrome printer markets. This also proves that printing remains a crucial part of the business and educational processes. With the easing of the epidemic in some countries and regions, the focus of printers will once again shift to the office space in the future.
Among them, developed countries in Europe have shown the most significant growth. In the fourth quarter of 2020, Germany's overall printer market grew by 3.5%, while the UK's overall printer market saw a staggering 17.6% increase. Although shipments in the Italian printer market have decreased by 4.5%. But the A4 monochrome multifunctional all-in-one machine achieved a growth of 4.5.
However, this year, the printer market has entered a relatively complex adjustment period, as the main supplier of components, AKM Asahi Kasei, has been affected in production, resulting in a shortage of chip supply. This problem may affect the development of the printer industry throughout 2021. Manufacturers will adjust their production and sales plans to address the shortage of components.