On Monday, President Biden gave an update on the executive order he issued around the right to repair. Quoting Vice:
In his statements, Biden said that he was “pleased to see the Federal Trade Commission unanimously announced that it would ramp up enforcement against illegal repair restrictions.” He also took credit for recent moves from Amazon and Microsoft that will, in theory, make it easier for people to gain access to repair parts and manuals for their devices. “Folks will be able to repair their phones and laptops themselves, although I’m not sure I know how to do that. Whenever I have a problem with my phone, I call my daughter. But it’s going to make it easy for millions of Americans to repair their electronics instead of paying an arm and a leg to repair or just throwing a device out.”
Also from the White House, on Tuesday news from the Commerce Secretary regarding the chip shortage. We have a while to go. Per the Washington Post, Manufacturers and other buyers of computer chips had less than five days’ supply of some chips on hand late last year, leaving them vulnerable to any disruptions in deliveries. Median demand for chips among buyers that responded to the survey was as much as 17 percent higher in 2021 than in 2019
The Secretary’s statement: “We aren’t even close to being out of the woods,” The House introduced a bill to try and help, earmarking $52 billion to encourage semiconductor production in the US and $45 billion for grants and loans focused on the supply chain, and the Senate already passed a similar bill back in June.
Right to Repair has crossed the tipping point, and I expect both consumers and customers to expect more. This should be excellent news for those in service.
Couple that with some bad news – the chip shortage will go a while. The short-term impact here to consider is ordering times on what is required to make projects a reality when it comes to hardware. Expect project delays to be 2022’s theme. Long term… will this change buying habits? Will customers become used to the idea of a delay in ordering? The example often cited is cars, where consumers may become comfortable ordering and waiting for their new vehicle. Will that extend to other kinds of technology as well?