There have been two big developments recently which are driving a huge shift in the memory market:

AI services, cloud platforms and data centres continue to expand at record speed. These systems consume enormous volumes of RAM.

While it’s not the same type of RAM used for your business’ laptops, the increased demand is significant enough to impact global production lines. Manufacturers are prioritising high-end, high-bandwidth memory for AI systems, and focusing less on consumer-grade and business-grade components.

In some cases, this prioritisation of memory for AI systems vs. ‘everyday RAM’ is resulting in key players exiting the market. In December 2025, Micron – one of the world’s largest memory manufacturers – announced that it would no longer sell its Crucial-branded consumer memory and storage products. This has significantly reduced market supply at a time when demand is rising quickly. Less supply means stronger upward pressure on prices.

Specific price jumps differ across manufacturers but industry-wide we’re seeing significant jumps. Some suppliers are passing moderate increases to businesses and consumers, while others are climbing several-fold. Items such as standard RAM modules are now far more expensive than they were just a few months ago. In some cases, SSD storage drives have roughly doubled in costs.

The AI boom shows no signs of slowing down, so current industry forecasts suggest that these pressures will continue into 2027.

If your business is planning routine upgrades or expansions, the cost of components like RAM or SSDs may now be higher than anticipated.

Laptop and PC prices haven’t surged just yet as retailers work through existing stock. However, if industry forecasts are correct, it’s likely this will change soon. When new machines are built with higher-cost components, that cost will likely be passed on to the consumers and business buying them.

“If you’re planning on upgrading the devices used across your business any time soon, accelerating these plans may help minimise price increases.”

The short answer is yes; in many cases upgrading RAM is still cost-effective. You can read more about the benefits of upgrading RAM in our blog post.

If your devices are generally in good health, relatively new and are only struggling with multi-tasking, adding RAM will likely still be cheaper than buying new hardware, even at current memory prices.

If you need other upgrades or your machines are particularly old, then the increased prices may mean other options make more sense than upgrading RAM.

The good news is, whatever your IT setup needs to succeed, we’re here to help. Get in touch today if you’d like to chat about cost-effectively getting your business’ machines up to speed.