AI Boom Hits the Wallet: Why Laptops and Graphics Cards Are Rising in Price Faster Than TVs in August 2026

In August 2026, the Ukrainian electronics market is experiencing another wave of transformation driven by global demand for artificial intelligence. What began as a technological breakthrough has evolved into a serious economic challenge for the end consumer. The boom in AI infrastructure has led to a sharp shortage of chips, which has inevitably reflected in retail prices. Buyers, previously accustomed to stability, are now forced to economize on gigabytes and revise their budgets for upgrading equipment.

The Domino Effect: From Data Centers to Retail Shelves

As Vladimir Yurko, Head of the Distribution Department at ASBIS-Ukraine, notes, the cause of the shortage has not disappeared. Major customers continue to expand their AI capabilities, competing for memory and component supplies. The logic of manufacturers is simple: if some capacity can be directed where demand is higher and buyers are willing to pay more, they do so. The problem is that factories cannot be expanded in a few months. The production resources diverted to expensive AI solutions are no longer serving the regular consumer segment in the same volume. This creates a shortage and high costs for standard DRAM, SSD, and HDD memory.

Why Laptops Are Getting More Expensive Faster Than TVs

The market is reacting unevenly to the rising cost of components. Laptops, where the share of memory and processors in the cost price is high, quickly reacted to the change in the situation. At the same time, TVs continue to demonstrate surprising price stability. According to distributors, the manufacturer's price for new batches of TVs could have risen by almost 30%, but the retail picture looks calmer: for models over 20,000 UAH, the change is 4-5%, and for cheaper ones — 7-11%.

This is explained by two factors. First, TVs have a long production and logistics cycle. The lag between a change in component price and the appearance of a new price tag on the shelf can be measured in months. Second, the factor of competition is at work: if one brand significantly raises its price while a competitor remains at the old level, the consumer will vote with their wallet. Therefore, companies are temporarily reducing their margins, absorbing part of the cost increase themselves.

Graphics Cards: From Artificial Decline to New Growth

The most dramatic scenario is unfolding in the graphics card market. Their cost price began to rise at the end of last year, and at the beginning of 2026, the market reacted to the new prices with a drop in sales. Buyers were not ready to pay as much as the new cost price required. In response, manufacturers from January to June used additional budgets to keep retail prices in check, effectively subsidizing the difference. Now we see the opposite movement: the next wave of price increases is beginning, particularly in products based on AMD and NVIDIA, and vendors' ability to compensate for the difference has been exhausted.

What to Expect from Prices in the Future

Experts warn: the current price stability for some categories of equipment is only a temporary lull. It is more accurate to say that the price increase has not yet fully reached the retail level. Vendors are already talking about further growth, and the resources to hold it back are not limitless. For the consumer, this means that in the coming months, a price correction upwards should be expected, especially in segments where the share of electronic components in the cost price is maximum.