The U.S. B2B
technology sector is headed for a 2% decline in 2022, according to NPD’s Future of B2B Technology.
But the study released Monday also
forecasts a 3% sales hike in 2023, when channel sales will top $106 billion, it says.
The decline in 2022 will be partly attributable to a
return to normal for products that surged over the past two years -- i.e., Notebooks, Chromebooks and work-from-home tools such as USB cameras, monitors and keyboards.
The projected Chromebooks slowdown will result from a return to in-person learning, NPD predicts. But software and cloud infrastructure sales will see an
uptick.
“The pivot to working from home that began in 2020 jumpstarted the momentum around digital transformation and that will
continue to be a significant driver of future technology spend,” said Mike Crosby, director and B2B technology industry analyst for NPD.
Crosby adds: “Changes made to business operations are also likely to drive spend as projects utilizing emerging technologies become more mainstream, including
artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT, and automation.”
In
addition, businesses will be able to thrive in 2023, “unencumbered by the market challenges of the previous two years, 2023 has the potential to be a year of strong gains with
businesses leveraging the efficiencies and scalability digital transformation provides,” Crosby adds.