Work-from-home scheme boosts laptop, gadget sales

CEBU, Philippines —  Sales of technology gadgets, particularly laptops, are on the rise as more and more employees are now advised to work from home as part of the government’s effort to thwart the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Philippine Retailers Association (PRA-Cebu) past president Robert Go confirmed this, saying aside from Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies, which are ordering volumes of laptop units for employees who are now working remotely, whether in hotels or in their homes, other industries are also purchasing mobile devices to prevent disruptions in their  operations.

Go, who owns supermarket chain Prince Hypermart, said his company has made a sizeable investment to improve its online and mobile business operations, amid the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Cebu.

“I’m [also] buying laptops and wifi lines and gadgets for my employees so they can work from home. Although our industry is supposed to be exempted because we are selling essential goods but our employees cannot come to work due to lockdown and there are no public transportation available,” explained Go.

Likewise, IT retailers in Cebu noted a surge of laptop purchases, due to WFH arrangements.

According to one of Cebu’s biggest IT retailers, while the spike of orders is noted in both online and offline platform, what worries the IT retailers is the delay in the shipments.