After fluctuating over the past three years, global spending on IT devices, including desktop PCs, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, and printers, has surged in 2024, rising by 6% year-over-year to $735 billion. This upward momentum is expected to continue, with spending set to hit an all-time high in 2025.
According to data from Stocklytics.com, companies and consumers worldwide are projected to invest over $805 billion in IT devices next year, $70 billion more than in 2024.
The Second-Largest Year-over-Year Growth After the Pandemic Boom
After scaling back budgets in 2022 and 2023, companies and consumers are once again prioritizing IT device investments. The growing adoption of AI-driven applications, IoT devices, and hybrid work models have heightened the need for high-performance PCs, tablets, and smartphones. In 2024, these factors fueled a 6.2% rise in spending to $735.7 billion, and this trend shows no signs of slowing.
According to the latest Gartner survey, 2025 is set to witness even bigger growth, with total spending rising by 9.5% to an all-time-high of $805.7 billion. Moreover, this represents the second-largest year-over-year growth in the past ten years. The only time global spending on PCs, smartphones and peripherals grew faster was in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. That year alone, remote work and education drove a dramatic 38% surge, pushing spending to $732 billion.
The Gartner data also show that global spending on IT devices has increased in nine out of the last ten years, with 2023 as the only exception. Inflationary pressures significantly dampened consumer purchasing power that year, leading to a nearly 10% drop in spending. Despite this dip, the broader trend is clear. IT devices have become indispensable tools for work, education, and entertainment, while demand for new, high-performance devices, driven by innovations in 5G, AI features, and online collaboration, has fueled a decade-long surge in investments.
Ten-Year Spending Climbs to Over $6.1 Trillion
The Gartner data also showed that the annual spending on IT devices has skyrocketed by nearly 160% over the past decade, rising from $310 billion in 2015 to a projected $805 billion in 2025.
With more than $805 billion spent on technology refreshing next year, the cumulative ten-year figure will climb to a shocking $6.1 trillion. Although that is much less compared to ten-year spending figures in other segments of the IT industry, like software, communication or IT services, it still highlights the critical role IT devices play in modern life.