The mobile computing segment saw revenue sales through distribution grow by 98% year-on-year in Brazil in the first seven months of 2021, far higher than any of the main European markets, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.

Out of six European countries (UK, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and Portugal), as well as South Africa and Argentina, only Argentina fared better than Brazil, with sales growth of nearly 156%.

The next strongest performer after Brazil was South Africa (38%) followed by Italy, (30%), the UK (26%) and then Russia (23%).

In Brazil, February (104%) and April (330%) were the top months for year-on-year growth so far in 2021. By contrast, growth was weakest during the end-of-year holiday period. It reached just 14% in January 2021.

Argentina also saw its strongest year-on-year performance in mobile computing in February (310%) and April (199%).

The continued success of mobile computing devices is likely to remain due to the impact of the pandemic and demand from home students and workers. 

In many cases, businesses may also be buying their employees portable computing equipment to prepare for the new era of hybrid working that is emerging in some regions.

The larger growth in southern hemisphere countries could be a reflection of how global trends take more time to impact emerging economies. Europe’s lower year-on-year growth figures are also partially due to the high comparatives of 2020, when lockdowns drove a large surge in demand.

It’s reassuring to see mobile computing sales continue to exhibit strong growth around the world, many months after the pandemic forced offices and schools to close for the first time. However, with component shortages remain a threat to this market, good inventory and logistics planning is more important than ever to the IT channel.

By LP