As most are aware, the pro AV industry story has been largely about Pandemic recovery for the past several years. In the early phase, growth was mostly a uniform reality, with all levels of the channel experiencing increasing sales year-over-year. This started to change in 2023, as lingering supply constraints hindered sales in some segments, while product flooded the market in others. The result was that, while projects were increasing for integrators, not all manufacturers were benefiting, creating uneven performance across the underlying categories and companies. On net, this also meant that growth overall was slightly less than originally expected for 2023, by about a point or so at the top level.

Looking ahead to 2024, AVIXA's industry forecasts expected growth to be slower as supply issues worked themselves out and purchasing took a breather after the large waves of investment. This has in fact occurred but at a slightly more elevated rate than expected. Though GDP continues to come in strong for many parts of the world, largely thanks to a resilient consumer, spending on pro AV is more muted. Continued high interest rates and geopolitics are contributing in part as enterprises hedge a bit, waiting for the context to have less uncertainty. Whatever the case, all levels of the pro AV channel, from end-user to manufacturer, are reporting smaller increases in spend. On net, this means that 2024 final results for pro AV will be less than expected, also by about a half a point of growth. 

The bright spot in the forecast is 2025. As we move past the uncertainties and start to see the impact of lower interest rates, growth is set to increase, lifting the industry up past the low point in the saddle. This will of course depend on other factors like commoditization effects and replacement cycles, both of which will be on our radar as we evaluate the market. Follow along here on the Xchange as we post our findings or subscribe to one of our many research offerings HERE.