The shift in digital infrastructure toward faster, more localized Internet and AI systems is also having an impact on tech products in the information technology (IT) and telecommunications (telecom) sectors. While both markets will still be undergoing a significant transition phase in 2026, the outlook for 2027 indicates accelerated growth in some areas. While sales of telecom devices to private consumers will rise by a modest 1.2 percent in 2026 and achieve a robust year-over-year growth of 2.6 percent in 2027 – which translates into a total increase of 3.8 percent over the two-year period –, the IT sector is set to make a dynamic turnaround in the wake of a slight decline in 2026 (–0.8 percent). For 2027, we expect growth of 3.1% for consumer IT products and thus a 2.3% increase over the two-year period. This nearly synchronous upswing in IT and telecommunications is due to a structural transformation of the market, in which modernized infrastructure is increasingly spurring demand for hardware purchases.

The key driver is the breakthrough of “on-device AI,” which is leading away from cloud services and will necessitate large-scale hardware replacement. In the IT sector, this paradigm shift is driving the transition to AI-native PCs equipped with dedicated neural processing units (NPUs). These high-end systems are clear revenue boosters for the IT industry. A similar phenomenon is bolstering the telecom segment: By 2027, smartphones with powerful on-device AI for latency-free real-time translations or complex, chip-integrated photo and video tools will become the new standard, encouraging consumers to upgrade to new devices. Edge AI is expected to reach a key stage of maturity by 2027. Local AI is enabling the emergence of highly utility-oriented applications, such as a smart energy-efficiency control for personal computers, automatic image and sound personalization on cell phones, or full-fledged on-device assistants on laptops.