PHOENIX — Holiday shoppers looking for laptops, tablets, or phones may be feeling sticker shock this season, and experts say artificial intelligence is a major reason why.
As AI technology rapidly expands, demand for computer chips and memory is surging — tightening supply and driving up prices for everyday consumer electronics.
Tech shoppers in Phoenix say they’re bracing for what could come next.
“It’s about to get really, really bad,” James Jones, a consumer in Scottsdale, said.
Others say the price increases are already dramatic.
“When the price used to be $100, right now it’s $1,000, for the same RAM,” Luis De La Torre, a consumer from San Luis, Arizona, said.
Experts say AI’s explosive growth is fueling massive demand for memory in data centers and the semiconductor industry, pulling supply away from consumer products.
“Probably manufacturers are focusing more, given those contracts to those companies that are making AI,” Francisco De La Torre, of San Luis, said.
That shift is making it more expensive for shoppers to upgrade everything from computers to phones.
“And that’s a lot of things now. Could be a washing machine, could be an automobile. Everything has chips in it,” Dennis Hoffman, a Professor of Economics at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, said.
Hoffman compares the situation to the pandemic-era chip shortage, when electronics, appliances, and vehicles all spiked in price. He expects the effects to ripple across the tech market into the new year.
“The lesson here might be, if you’re looking for a last-minute Christmas gift and you find consumer electronics on sale, and that’s what you want to do, that might not be a bad idea,” Hoffman said.
At the Tempe tech store, The Apple Xchange, owner Alan Chook says pre-owned electronics can help shoppers avoid some of the increases.
“You’re not buying that memory new, so the price of these computers aren’t going up any,” Chook said. “Often we see anywhere from 40-70% savings.”
Some shoppers say buying older models makes sense right now.
“You can probably find great products that are not like the latest model,” Francisco De La Torre said.
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Others caution consumers to be careful in the resale market.
“Just be aware that there’s a lot of scams out there for it as well,” Jones said.
Some shoppers are choosing to wait altogether.
“I mean, you cannot upgrade until...we have to wait until the prices come down,” Luis De La Torre said.
Patience may be required.
“This is probably going to be another two, three years before manufacturing is able to ramp up to accommodate what both the consumer market demands and now what the AI market is demanding,” Jones said.
Tech shoppers are aware AI is here to stay, and so are these price hikes.
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