ITC champions 2023: Who leads the market?

Despite economic fluctuations and the challenges of inflation, which put pressure on global markets in 2023, the ITC industry demonstrated remarkable resilience. This is reflected in the stable demand for ITC products on the ITscope platform.

Workplace of the future: flexible, mobile and networked

According to the ITscope analysis, B2B customers are clearly shifting their interest towards flexible products such as tablet PCs and notebooks, as well as the latest network equipment. "This development is indicative of a shift within the IT industry," comments Oliver Gorges, Director Sales and Marketing at ITscope. "It illustrates how companies are investing in technologies that support a flexible and efficient way of working, for example in hybrid working models." Accordingly, interest in PC systems declined noticeably in 2023.

Click figures for the ten most popular products in selected categories on the ITscope platform in 2022 compared to 2023

Frontrunner 2023: Tablet PCs dominate the market

The category with the most clicks by far in 2023 was tablet PCs. The trend was already announced in 2022, but the fact that the figures went through the roof is mainly due to the exorbitantly high number of clicks for Apple iPads. These dominate the category - even though Apple did not launch any new tablets on the market in 2023. The absolute favourite of ITscope users was the Apple iPad Wi-Fi, 10.2". It was at the top of the category in every quarter without exception and is therefore the most popular product in ITscope 2023. The solid tablet with a 10.2-inch screen diagonal is considered user-friendly, intuitive and relatively inexpensive compared to other Apple products. The Wholesale selling price (WSP) remains stable at around 300 euros.

The Apple iPad Wi-Fi, 10.2" was in demand throughout 2023.

The lead of the "Tablet PCs" category compared to other categories was particularly clear in the third quarter of 2023: In the autumn months, the top 10 tablets alone raked in a whopping 28,592 clicks. Tablet PCs are also significantly more popular compared to the previous year: While the most popular category products in 2022 only received 62,899 clicks, the tablets category broke the magical hundred-thousand barrier in 2023 and achieved 105,242 clicks.

Change in the number of clicks on the ten most popular products in selected categories on the ITscope platform from the first to the fourth quarter of 2023

Network devices benefit from the back-to-office trend

The network devices category on the ITscope platform includes routers, repeaters, transceivers and other products required for network connections. The ten most popular products in the category were clicked on so often in 2023 that the category made it to second place in our category ranking. The most clicked product was the UbiQuiti UniFi U6-PRO, a ceiling-mounted access point that provides WiFi reception even in large offices. The back-to-office trend is obviously creating a high demand for network equipment - stable and secure Wi-Fi in the office is essential for daily business. Companies are therefore increasingly investing in high-quality network solutions to meet the challenges of the modern workplace and ensure smooth communication and data transmission.

Notebooks: flexibility as a recipe for success

Notebooks secured third place in our annual ranking. They achieved an impressive result with an average of around 20,000 clicks per quarter on the top 10 products. The Lenovo ThinkPad L15 Gen 3 was clearly at the top of the category. The mid-range notebook has a powerful Intel i5 processor with 4.4 GHz, an SSD with 512 GB and 16 GB RAM. The most popular notebook among ITscope users recorded 20,678 clicks in 2023. Since autumn 2023, however, the notebook favourite has become almost impossible to obtain and is now barely in stock at Merchants, as Lenovo launched the 4th generation of the popular notebook back in May.

The Lenovo ThinkPad L15 Gen 3 is the most clicked notebook in 2023 - but it was hardly available in the fourth quarter.

Mini instead of maxi: PC systems are losing interest

In contrast to notebooks, whose top 10 even improved compared to 2022, interest in PC systems declined significantly in 2023. Hybrid workstation models are in demand and the classic desktop PC is less suitable. It is therefore hardly surprising that the number of clicks in 2023 is significantly lower than in 2022.

TFTs: Stable interest in screens

The top 10 screens were also accessed less often overall in 2022 than in 2023, but the gap is smaller than for PC systems. "Multi-monitor setups are becoming increasingly popular in the professional section. The demands of the modern working world often mean that more than one screen is required per employee," concludes Oliver Gorges. System houses rely on tried-and-tested models for their customers. The number 1 is the Dell P2422H - LED monitor, which achieved 24,242 clicks on ITscope in 2023, making it the second most popular product of all.

Mobile market 2023: Apple iPhones prevail on ITscope

A clear trend emerged in the mobile phones section of ITscope in 2023: click numbers rose continuously with each quarter, with the fourth quarter in particular reaching a peak. This increase was mainly due to the latest models from Apple, which received a lot of attention on the platform. However, the most frequently clicked mobile phone on ITscope, with 10,789 clicks, is an older model, the compact iPhone SE (3rd generation), which has established itself in the business world as a comparatively affordable Apple smartphone. There was no new edition of the handy classic in 2023, but rumour has it that a successor is being planned for the end of 2024.

Promising future despite obstacles

2023 was a year of cautious growth for the digital industry despite a number of challenges. According to forecasts by the market research institute Context, a moderate increase to a trend reversal is imminent. "It was a challenging year for the IT sector, as companies were very reluctant to invest," reflects Oliver Gorges. "However, the upturn in the fourth quarter and the positive forecast for the second quarter of 2024 give us confidence. Our aim is to support the industry in this recovery phase with our data and insights."

Click figures on the ITscope platform in 2023 were down on the previous year - but there are signs of a recovery in Q4

Tabular top 30 most popular products on ITscope (by clicks)