NPD: US B2B Technology Forecast Reveals Reseller Revenue and Unit Sales Growth Expected for 2022

According to The NPD Group, U.S. B2B technology sales through the reseller channel are expected to see year-over-year revenue and unit sales increases of 8% in 2022. The latest Future of B2B Tech forecast reveals a slight year-over-year revenue decline will follow in 2023 (down 1%), with a return to growth in 2024 (up 2%). This will result in U.S. B2B technology reseller channel revenue that is 18% above pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

“Despite lingering supply chain issues and fluctuating pandemic conditions, 2022 has seen strong first quarter growth with momentum expected to continue into the second quarter,” said Mike Crosby, director and B2B technology industry analyst for NPD. “While average sales prices (ASPs) will likely remain high through most of 2022, ASPs will begin to contract in 2023, resulting in the anticipated revenue decline despite unit sales growth.”

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Through the forecast period, hardware will maintain its dominant share of reseller channel revenue, but software, cloud, and managed IT services are making gains. The Cloud category, for one, is expected to reach $3 billion in sales through the U.S. B2B technology reseller channel by the end of 2024. This reflects a year over year increase of approximately 35% each year from 2022 through 2024, as companies of all sizes leverage cloud offerings for improved businesses flexibility and scalability. Despite challenging comps, supply challenges and growing prices, demand for computers in 2022 remains positive as midsize and enterprise companies continue to expand their remote workforce. This category will see gains in 2024 as well, as organizations will begin refreshing devices that were deployed during 2020.

“Technology spend will also be driven by digital transformation efforts that are expanding beyond the initial pivot to work-from-home. Changes made to business operations will impact purchases as well as projects utilizing emerging technologies such as AI, machine learning, IoT, and automation become more mainstream,” noted Crosby.