Omdia predicts 2026 downturn for global POS displays and US PC shipments

Omdia’s 2026 market outlook foresees a contraction in hardware demand. For global retail point‑of‑sale (POS) displays, the firm projects mobile POS shipments to fall 11.5% to about 11.7 million units and standalone POS displays to drop 8.6% to roughly 3.2 million units. The shift to SoftPOS technology – turning smartphones or tablets into payment terminals – is identified as a core driver reducing the need for dedicated mobile POS hardware, while rising component costs and supply‑chain uncertainty pressure standalone units.

In the United States, Omdia expects PC shipments (excluding tablets) to decline 7% year‑on‑year in the first quarter of 2026, down to 15.8 million units, marking the steepest quarterly drop since Q3 2023. The slowdown is linked to sharp increases in memory and storage prices, the end of the Windows 11 upgrade cycle, and weaker commercial demand, all of which limit procurement and push retailers to limit inventory.