Gartner: PC prices will increase up to 10 percent in 2015

Even though the PC industry is undergoing change, trying to fight off a shift to mobile devices, manufacturers must increase prices to balance international currency devaluation, according to the Gartner research group. This will lead to price increases up to 10 percent in 2015, with a 4 percent end-user spending increase year-over-year.

Small business will choose consumer PCs, as large organizations reduce PC unit purchases by up to 20 percent because of increasing prices, Gartner notes.

"We are currently seeing the sharp appreciation of the dollar against most other currencies reflected in companies' earnings results," said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. "PC vendors selling to Europe and Japan, where local currencies have fallen up to 20 percent since the start of 2015, have little choice than to raise prices to preserve profits."

The PC industry is undergoing massive change in recent years - although hardware is getting faster and more affordable, there is less emphasis on upgrading PCs. Also, companies and consumers are adopting mobile solutions, including tablets and laptops, instead of buying desktop PCs.