Sales of inkjet multifunction printers fell sharply in this April by 11.3% year-on-year in terms of units.

Based on a report from Context, IT market intelligence company, the most of European distributors experienced the crash after having remarkable growth in February (+29%) and March (+10.5%).

The United Kingdom was the only country to meet a growth in inkjet MFP sales of 13.2% at this April in the Western Europe, although smaller than the increases this country saw in February and March.

In spite of the decline in sales of the number of MFP units on the continent in April, the revenue generated during this month increased by 8.2% year-on-year. More expensive entry-level or mid-range business printers (both inkjet and laser) were purchased instead.

According to Context, a severe shortage of both consumer and entry-level business inkjet MFPs during April is to be blamed for the decline in sales.

Vendors have advised the IT market research company that a shortage of components had a severe impact on their production line. “it is now taking about four months to produce new printers rather than the usual four-week average.”

It is the view of Context that most vendors will continue to face the same issue and that this will have serious consequences for the performance of the print sector in the coming months, particularly as remote working and e-schooling continue to increase demand for consumer printers of all types.