The worldwide interactive displays market is firmly on track for recovery, according to THE rAVe Agency’s LAVNCH partner, Futuresource Consulting, who reporting a 49% quarter-on-quarter increase in Q2. According to the tracking service, almost all countries performed better and bounced back faster than expected.

“The mass pessimism felt across the industry in March and April, leading to widespread expectations of weak Q2 sales, has not become a reality,” says Colin Messenger, senior consultant at Futuresource Consulting. “It’s a huge result for the sector, particularly as COVID-19’s weight has been resting hard across the entire supply chain. Once access to schools was resumed, it quickly became clear that installation orders had been delayed rather than cancelled outright, back-loading much of the activity into the second half of the quarter.”

At the heart of the renewed demand for interactive displays is a new way of learning. Many schools have adopted a hybrid approach, blending online and offline to ensure educators can continue to teach while maximizing student safety. In many cases, class sizes have been halved using a weekly rotation, which requires 50% of students to connect to lessons remotely. There is also a high level of resilience planning and preparation taking place, with schools taking steps to ensure they have the right equipment in place to meet any future challenges.

“Despite market accelerations in Q2, year-on-year volumes are still depressed, and there’s a long road to walk before we see full recovery,” said Messenger. “Beyond education, corporate demand has yet to rally, although the future continues to show promise. By the end of Q3, we expect China to have returned to normal levels, and Q4 will end at close to our original global pre-COVID-19 forecasts.

With 50 brands competing within the interactive displays market, it’s a dynamic landscape that continues to exhibit innovation and resilience. There is no doubt that its place is secured at the front of classrooms, while the value of touch will continue to rise. Longer term, we expect global sales for 2021 to exceed 2019 by around 2%, continuing to build annually throughout our forecast period.”