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Retail news · October 2026

Tech prices could rise before Christmas: should you buy that laptop, console or TV now or wait for Black Friday?

The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply says more than half the buyers in its latest survey expect computer prices to rise by at least 5% in the coming quarter, because memory chips are short and freight is dearer. For consoles and Apple laptops that is not a forecast: their prices have already gone up this year. For TVs and speakers the picture is very different, and Black Friday has a long record of not being the cheapest day anyway. Here is how to decide, and how to buy now without losing out if the price falls later.

Published 13 October 2026 · Followed up 13 October 2026 · Shopbam reports what other outlets and company filings recorded; we did not attend or audit anything ourselves.

A shop shelf with a laptop, a games console and a television, each with a price tag and an upward arrow, beside a December calendar and a Christmas bauble

Tech prices before Christmas 2026: the numbers that affect shoppers

FigureValueWhat it means
Buyers expecting computer prices to rise 5% or more 51% CIPS Global Pulse Survey, Q3 2026, "computers and peripheral equipment", over the coming quarter. A survey of procurement professionals, not a forecast of shop prices.
Buyers expecting computer prices to rise 10% or more 26% Same CIPS survey (26.0% in its table). 8.3% expect a rise above 20%. CIPS's July write-up of the previous survey gave 29% for rises above 10%, so this measure has not got worse.
Electrical machinery: buyers expecting 10% or more 18.3% CIPS Q3 2026 table, "electrical machinery and apparatus". 6.5% expect more than 20%.
Memory chip contract prices, Q4 2026 Up 10–15% (DRAM), 15–20% (NAND) TrendForce forecast for October to December over the previous quarter, reported by TechNews on 30 September 2026. TrendForce says the pace of DRAM rises is slowing.
PlayStation 5 (disc), Christmas 2025 against now £479.99 → £569.99 Up £90 from 2 April 2026 (T3, 27 March 2026). The Digital Edition is £519.99 and the Pro £789.99; T3 gave the new prices and the £90 rise, and the old prices are its new price less £90.
Xbox Series S 512GB, Christmas 2025 against now £299.99 → £429.99 Up £130 from 1 August 2026 (Pure Xbox, 3 August 2026). Series X disc went from £499.99 to £669.99. Microsoft blamed memory and storage costs.
Nintendo Switch 2, Christmas 2025 against now £395.99 → £419.99 Up £24 from 1 September 2026, confirmed by Nintendo Store UK (God is a Geek, 21 August 2026).
Apple MacBook and iPad rises About 17–25% (US prices) Announced 25 June 2026; MacBook Air 512GB $1,099 to $1,299, iPad Air $599 to $749 (Cybernews). We found no confirmed UK price list for the change.
Products cheaper or the same price outside Black Friday 83% Which?, 25 November 2025: 175 tech and home products at eight retailers, tracked six months either side of the 2024 sales. None of the deals on Black Friday itself was at its cheapest of the year.
Products at their lowest on Black Friday itself About 2% Which?, 24 November 2023: 5 of 208 products in its 2022 study.
Online cancellation window 14 days after delivery Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30(3). Online, phone and mail order only — not in a shop.
Price-match claim window at Currys and John Lewis 7 days Both retailers' own price promise pages. John Lewis also refunds the difference if it cuts its own price within 7 days.

What happened

The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) warned on 9 October that "businesses and consumers could be hit hard in the run up to Christmas 2026" as supply-chain disruption brings double-digit price rises to transport, food and technology. Retail Gazette ran it as "Technology prices could jump this Christmas". The figures come from the CIPS Global Pulse Survey for the third quarter of 2026, a panel of procurement and supply professionals — the people who buy stock and parts for businesses.

For technology, 26% of respondents expect computers and peripheral equipment to rise in price by at least 10% in the coming quarter, and 8.3% expect more than 20%. Including smaller rises, 51% expect computer prices to go up by at least 5%. One technology buyer told CIPS: "Shortage of chips has repercussions for laptop and mobile phone purchases." For "electrical machinery and apparatus", 18.3% expect rises of 10% or more.

CIPS chief executive Ben Farrell said: "Households will feel this at the till before Christmas." Its chief economist, Dr John Glen, explained the mechanism: "Now businesses must manufacture replacement stock using more expensive inputs and then pay more to transport it."

What the survey does and does not say

It is worth reading the CIPS release carefully, because it is more cautious than its headline. It says the survey "does not predict the scale of shortages or a uniform increase in retail prices". These are business buyers' expectations for what they will pay, not a count of shop price tags. A procurement manager paying 10% more for laptops for an office does not mean every laptop in Currys goes up 10%.

It is also not getting worse on this measure. CIPS's own write-up of the previous survey, published on 28 July, said 29% expected computer prices to rise by more than 10%. This quarter's figure is 26%. That is still a quarter of the panel, and still high — but it is a plateau, not a fresh spike.

Why: memory chips, then freight

The cause CIPS's technology buyers point to is component shortages, chips above all. That matches what the memory industry itself has been reporting all year. TrendForce, the Taiwanese market tracker, forecast on 30 September that contract prices for conventional DRAM memory would rise another 10–15% in October to December, and NAND flash storage 15–20%, as AI data centres take a growing share of supply. It also said the pace of DRAM rises is slowing, and that notebook stock built with high-cost parts will roll into the fourth quarter.

Freight is the second push. CIPS cites diesel, the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, and disruption to shipping routes through the Suez Canal; 36% of its panel expect shipping and logistics costs to rise by at least 10%. The S&P Global UK manufacturing PMI for September, published on 2 October, found input costs accelerating for the first time in four months, and S&P's Rob Dobson said "energy and electronics prices remain especially elevated". Neither the CIPS release nor the PMI mentions tariffs or sterling, so we have not added them.

For consoles and Apple, the rise has already happened

This is the part a shopper can actually use. The chip squeeze has already shown up in the price of the most memory-hungry gadgets, and it is easy to compare with last Christmas.

Sony raised every PlayStation 5 by £90 from 2 April 2026, citing "continued pressures". The disc PS5 is now £569.99 against £479.99 last Christmas, the Digital Edition £519.99 and the PS5 Pro £789.99 (T3, 27 March 2026). Microsoft went further from 1 August: according to Pure Xbox, the Series S 512GB rose from £299.99 to £429.99, the Series S 1TB from £349.99 to £519.99, the Series X Digital from £449.99 to £619.99 and the Series X disc from £499.99 to £669.99. Microsoft said "the entire consumer electronics industry is struggling with the current components crisis". Nintendo put the Switch 2 up from £395.99 to £419.99 on 1 September.

On our sums, a family that bought a Series S and a disc PS5 for Christmas 2025 would have paid £779.98 at the list prices then (£299.99 + £479.99). The same two consoles at today's list prices are £999.98 (£429.99 + £569.99) — £220 more, before any Black Friday discount. That is the gap the CIPS warning is describing, and for consoles it is already in the shops.

Apple raised Mac and iPad prices on 25 June, saying "We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly". In US dollars the MacBook Air 512GB went from $1,099 to $1,299 and the iPad Air from $599 to $749, roughly 17–25% (Cybernews). Retail Week reported the rise at around 20%. We could not find a confirmed UK price list for the change, so check Apple's own UK store for today's price rather than relying on an older review.

TVs and speakers are telling a different story

Not every category is moving the same way, and the CIPS survey does not single out televisions. Our own checks this month found clearance pricing, not rises. Our Hisense 55U7S Pro review found it at £999 at Currys, down from £1,399, on 5 October, and our LG C4 55-inch OLED review found the run-out C4 at £999–£1,079 against £1,599 for the newer C6. The Sonos Era 100 was £179 at John Lewis on 8 October against a £199 list price. Those are last year's or this year's models being cleared, and clearance stock was bought before this winter's costs arrived.

What Black Friday really does

Which? has tracked this for years and the answer barely changes. In its latest study, published on 25 November 2025, it followed 175 home and tech products at Amazon, AO, Argos, Boots, Currys, John Lewis, Richer Sounds and Very for six months either side of the 2024 sales. 83% were the same price or cheaper at least once outside the four-week Black Friday period, and none of the deals on Black Friday itself was at its lowest price of the year. One Samsung 55-inch TV at AO was £1,039 on Black Friday and cheaper on 134 days in the following six months, at a lowest of £759.

Which?'s 2023 study, covering Black Friday 2022, found only five of 208 products — about 2% — were at their cheapest on Black Friday. Its 2019 study found 94% of technology products such as TVs were cheaper or the same price at some point in the six months afterwards. Which? retail editor Reena Sewraz called the event "a false economy" for most shoppers.

So the honest answer to "buy now or wait" depends on the category. Waiting for Black Friday has rarely been the winning bet for TVs and speakers, because the same prices come round again. For consoles, laptops and phones, the risk this year is the other way: the list price itself has been climbing, and a Black Friday discount may only take you back to where the price was last spring.

The safety nets: price promises and the 14-day right

Currys' Price Promise matches "any other UK retailer store or website price including offer-code discounts", before you buy or up to seven days after. The item must be identical and in stock at both, and it excludes marketplace sellers, membership prices and pricing errors. John Lewis matches 25 named competitors, including Amazon for electricals, Argos, Currys, AO and Richer Sounds, within seven days of placing the order — and also refunds the difference if it cuts its own price in that time. It excludes flash sales, anything "with a countdown clock" and marketplaces.

Argos does not publish a general price match in its terms. What it ran last year was a Black Friday Price Guarantee: badged products bought between 31 October and 2 December 2025 were covered if the price dropped before midnight on 25 December, paid back as an Argos e-gift card valid three months. That page still shows the 2025 dates; Argos had not published 2026 terms when we checked.

The strongest protection is the law, and it only applies online. Under regulation 30 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, you can cancel an online order for any reason until "the end of 14 days after the day on which the goods come into" your possession. As Citizens Advice puts it, "there doesn't need to be anything wrong with the item". That right does not exist in a shop.

How it unfolded

DateWhat happened
November 2024 to December 2024Which? tracks a four-week Black Friday sales period, 15 November to 12 December 2024, for its 2025 study.
25 November 2025Which? publishes the result: 83% of 175 products were the same price or cheaper at least once outside the sales period.
31 October to 2 December 2025Argos runs its 2025 Black Friday Price Guarantee: drop in price before midnight on 25 December, and you get the difference as an e-gift card.
2 April 2026Sony raises UK PlayStation 5 prices by £90 on every model.
25 June 2026Apple raises Mac and iPad prices, saying "We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly".
28 July 2026CIPS publishes its Q2 Pulse results: 29% expect computer prices to rise more than 10%.
1 August 2026New Xbox Series X|S prices take effect in the UK; the Series S 512GB goes from £299.99 to £429.99.
1 September 2026Nintendo Switch 2 goes from £395.99 to £419.99 in the UK.
30 September 2026TrendForce forecasts memory contract prices up again in October to December, though more slowly.
2 October 2026S&P Global UK manufacturing PMI: input costs accelerate for the first time in four months, with "energy and electronics prices" singled out.
9 October 2026CIPS warns that food, technology and freight costs could climb through Christmas; Retail Gazette and Grocery Gazette report it.
Late November 2026Black Friday (27 November 2026), with most retailers' sales running for weeks either side.

What this means if you shop there

  • If it is a console, a laptop or a phone you were going to buy anyway, do not hold out for Black Friday. PlayStation, Xbox, Switch 2 and Apple prices have all gone up in 2026, and the chip makers expect memory costs to keep rising to the end of the year. On our sums, a disc PS5 and a Series S cost £220 more at list price than last Christmas.
  • If it is a TV or a speaker, there is less hurry. CIPS does not single out televisions, run-out models are already discounted (the Hisense 55U7S Pro was £999 at Currys on 5 October, down from £1,399), and Which? found TV prices repeatedly matched or beat Black Friday in the months afterwards.
  • Buy online, not in the shop, if you are worried the price will fall. The 14-day cancellation right runs from the day after delivery and only covers online, phone and mail order. If the same item drops in price, you can cancel and reorder. Keep it boxed and unused so there is no argument about the refund.
  • Claim a price match within seven days. Currys and John Lewis both give you seven days after you buy. John Lewis also refunds the difference if it cuts its own price in that week. Take a screenshot of the cheaper price, with the date, the moment you see it.
  • Check the exclusions before you rely on a match. Neither Currys nor John Lewis matches marketplace sellers. John Lewis will not match flash sales or anything with a countdown clock, which rules out much of what retailers call a Black Friday deal.
  • Look for Argos's price guarantee badge, but expect a voucher, not cash. In 2025 it covered badged products until midnight on Christmas Day and paid the difference as an e-gift card. We could not find 2026 terms yet, so check the badge and the terms on the day.
  • Check a price history before you trust a "was" price. Which? found retailers using RRPs that applied for only a handful of days. A tracking site such as PriceSpy or PriceRunner will show you whether this week's price is genuinely low.
  • Put a gift date on your calendar. If you buy online on 13 October, the 14-day window will have closed long before Christmas. Retailers' extended Christmas returns policies are their own choice and vary — check the retailer's page before you buy a present early.

Checked on 13 October 2026. A story this recent moves — we update this box rather than leaving it to rot.

Where this came from

What we could not check

  • The Retail Gazette article this story follows would not open for us, by direct fetch or through any mirror. Everything on this page about the CIPS warning comes from the CIPS release itself.
  • The CIPS release carries no publication date on the page and gives no respondent count, no regions and no fieldwork dates. We have dated it 9 October from the Grocery Gazette and Retail Gazette reports.
  • CIPS gives 36% for shipping costs rising at least 10% in its text and 35.7% in its table. We have used the text figure, which is the table figure rounded.
  • The release headline says costs "could double"; its body says "double-digit" rises and that the survey "does not predict" a uniform rise in retail prices. We have reported the body.
  • The PlayStation 5 prices before 2 April 2026 are T3's new prices less £90, not a separately published list.
  • We found no confirmed UK pound prices for Apple's June 2026 Mac and iPad rises, only US dollar prices and Retail Week's "around 20%" figure, whose article did not show its date.
  • Console prices quoted are manufacturer list prices. Retailers may already sell below them, so the £220 difference in our two-console sum is a list-price comparison, not a shop-price one.
  • Whether Argos will run a 2026 Black Friday Price Guarantee, and on what dates. Its terms page still shows 2025.
  • Whether Currys refunds the difference if it lowers its own price after you buy. Its Price Promise page covers competitors' prices only.
  • The John Lewis price promise page returned its full policy text but a "404 - Page not found" page title. Check it is current before relying on it.
  • Retailers' extended Christmas returns periods for 2026, which are voluntary and outside the statutory 14 days. We did not check them.
  • We did not check ONS consumer price figures for computers, phones or TVs, so we cannot say how shop prices in those categories have actually moved across 2026 as a whole.

Company figures are as reported by the businesses themselves or their administrators. Where two sources disagree, this page says so rather than picking one.