UK’s Currys warns memory chip shortage will push up prices - 93.3 The Drive

Currys, the UK’s largest consumer electronics retailer, warned that higher prices for smartphones, laptops, and other electronics are inevitable later this year due to a global memory chip shortage. C... Read original →

The insatiable demand for HBM from AI and data centers is cannibalizing mature-node DRAM/NAND capacity, creating a structural mismatch that starves consumer devices. Europe’s over-70% reliance on U.S. EDA tools and equipment—highlighted in an EU report—combined with tightening export controls from Taiwan, China and Hong Kong, China, has pushed compliance costs up by 15–20%. While Currys mitigates impact via early procurement, rivals like MediaMarkt may be forced to pass costs to consumers. Over the next 18 months, average consumer electronics prices could rise 8–12%, squeezing out second-tier brands. Crucially, retail competition is shifting from pricing to supply-chain resilience, with firms controlling wafer allocation poised to dominate the new hierarchy.