Interactive display sales soared in Q3, with strong performances across the globe, according to the latest quarterly tracking report from Futuresource Consulting. “The market has well and truly bounced back,” says Colin Messenger, Senior Market Analyst, Futuresource Consulting.
“Particularly when we consider the supply chain challenges that surrounded COVID-19 and the mass pessimism felt across the industry earlier in the year. There’s no doubt that we’ve now turned a corner, with interactive display interactive displays showing a year-on-year increase of 16%.
A Global Reversal of Fortunes
According to the Futuresource report, almost all countries outperformed market expectations, with China, USA, Germany and many EMEA countries delivering standout performances. This has been driven by a pronounced sales spike from schools in July, as orders that were postponed during Easter and summer half term were reactivated. As a result, the market has been reinvigorated and installations have resumed.
Although the pandemic hit the industry hard in the first half of the year, it has been transformed into an opportunity. Stay-at-home measures have increased the awareness of the displays sector as a whole, created talking points around interactivity and applied upward pressure to sales volumes. In many countries, the majority of schools are now fully open.
“There has been a wave of realisation across education about the need to blend classroom-based and distance learning,” says Messenger. “The hybrid learning environment is on everyone’s lips, and school administrators are making sure they have the right equipment in place as the new technological shift comes into play.”
Corporate Interactive Displays Lagging Behind
Beyond education, demand is also beginning to return to the corporate market, though at a subdued level, with China leading the way and accounting for 65% of corporate sales in Q3. Long purchasing delays are still expected from companies, as well as the cancellation of many projects.
Once the global workforce does return to the office, many team members will still spend much of the week working from home. This could kickstart the use of interactive displays in the office to improve collaboration and heighten control of video meetings where both internal and external parties are present.
A Bright Future Ahead
Looking forward, Futuresource expects this groundswell of activity to continue through into Q4, as the backlog of installations continues to be fulfilled. In addition, 2020 full year forecasts are now above original forecasts with a 6% CAGR expected between 2019 and 2024.
