As we look towards the end of 2026, enterprise technology teams are facing an increasingly tough device market. The availability of new laptops, tablets, smartphones and workplace devices is being affected by a combination of AI-led component demand, energy and shipping disruption, and wider trade volatility. For businesses, this means longer lead times, higher prices, reduced choice and more pressure on IT budgets.
Against this backdrop, refurbished technology gives businesses another route to supply. It helps teams stay equipped when new product availability tightens, reduces dependency on new manufacturing capacity and frees budget for the areas where investment is rising fastest, including AI infrastructure, cloud, cybersecurity and software.
Refurbished tech creates a second source of supply
Ensuring a diversified, resilient supply of devices is important when business growth is reliant upon hardware availability. A delayed laptop can slow onboarding, a shortage of tablets can affect the rollout of a business critical program, and rising smartphone costs can make frontline refreshes harder to approve. Refurbished supply gives procurement and IT teams more flexibility, especially for roles where reliability and availability matter more than the very latest specification. By using a blended approach to hardware acquisition, businesses can pick the mix that works best for them: new devices could be prioritised for specialist teams that need maximum performance, while refurbished devices can support the wider estate at lower cost and with faster availability. For enterprise customers, this can support:
- Laptops for office-based teams
- Smartphones and tablets for frontline, field and temporary workers
- Replacement stock for lost, broken or ageing devices
- Buffer inventory for onboarding, projects and regional deployments
- Cost-controlled devices for roles that do not need high-end hardware
Why new device supply is under pressure
AI is changing the way component capacity is being used. Data centres need huge volumes of advanced memory and storage to support AI workloads. Major memory manufacturers have been shifting limited production capacity toward higher-margin components for AI infrastructure, which tightens availability for the types of memory and storage used in everyday PCs and smartphones.
For a non-technical buyer, the impact is straightforward: the same core components that make workplace devices run quickly and store data are being pulled into AI infrastructure at scale. Device manufacturers then have to compete for tighter supply, and that pressure has been seen feeding through into price, availability and lead times.
Gartner expects surging memory and storage costs to push PC prices up 17% and smartphone prices up 13% in 2026. That creates a problem for business buyers, with 48% needing to find cost savings and 36% looking at enforced budget restrictions in a recent Alchemy study. Given these pressures, it’s no surprise that business appetite for refurb is on the rise, with 71% reporting they were considering buying refurbished tech over the next 12-24 months.
Supply chain resilience is being tested
Conflict risk around the Strait of Hormuz has added another layer of uncertainty. The Strait is one of the world’s most critical oil transit chokepoints, with around a quarter of seaborne oil trade and almost a fifth of global LNG trade passing through it. Any disruption affects energy markets quickly, with knock-on effects for transport, manufacturing, insurance, logistics and working capital.
Other shipping events show the same pattern. Red Sea and Panama Canal disruption in 2024 forced rerouting and added 10 days or more to average delivery times on affected routes, according to the IMF. These examples matter because enterprise technology supply chains are highly global. Even where finished devices are available, logistics shocks can affect timing, cost and confidence.
Trade policy changes add further planning risk with global trade bodies warning that a volatile tariff environment can undermine trade growth and efficiency. For technology buyers, the practical issue is less about politics and more about predictability: changing landed costs make it harder for suppliers and customers to plan pricing, stock and refresh cycles.
Lower-cost supply protects budgets for higher-priority investment
Most businesses are being asked to invest more in AI, data, cloud, security and automation. Gartner’s April 2026 forecast points to strong growth in worldwide IT spending, led by AI infrastructure, advanced memory and data centre systems.
If more money is absorbed by higher device prices, less is available for the projects that are now competing for board-level attention. A refurbished-first policy for suitable roles helps protect capital, allowing businesses to equip people effectively, maintain operational standards and reserve higher budgets for areas where new or specialist technology is genuinely required.
In this environment, refurbished technology has a strong role to play in reducing acquisition costs, ensuring access to readily available stock and helping businesses avoid extending the life of older devices beyond a sensible point.
Building resilience into the device estate
New devices will continue to play an essential role, especially for specialist teams that need high-performance hardware. That said, refurbished devices increasingly give businesses more choice across the rest of the estate.
That choice is becoming more valuable: AI investment is pulling component capacity toward data centres, energy and shipping disruption can quickly affect global logistics, trade policy volatility adds another planning variable, and new device prices are rising, all contributing to a perfect storm for some businesses.
Refurbished tech gives businesses a practical way to relieve these pressures and derisk device acquisition. It provides a readily available, lower-cost source of supply that is less dependent on new manufacturing cycles. It helps keep people equipped, supports faster deployment and frees budget for the areas where costs are rising fastest.
At Alchemy, we recover, process and redeploy technology at scale, enabling partners to reduce bottlenecks, protect budgets and keep their teams moving when new-device supply becomes harder to rely on.
Ready to build refurbished into your device strategy? Get in touch with the Alchemy team to find out how we can help.
