Thailand's connected smart device market, which combines desktops, notebooks, smartphones and tablets, has reached the saturation point in part because of a delay in product replacements during the economic slowdown.
"The market will have flat growth for the first time this year with sales of 200 billion baht, compared with 20% growth last year," said Jarit Sidhu, research manager of IDC Asia-Pacific, a global technology research firm.
The local PC penetration rate is 35-40% while the smartphone penetration rate is 50%.
Mr Jarit said the slowing economy has encouraged consumers to use their devices longer. Thais now use smartphones for 2.2 years on average before replacing them, compared to 1.1 years three years ago.
Thais use desktops 3.8 years and notebooks 3.3 years, up from two years each in 2010, the golden year for PC sales.
In terms of unit shipments, 23 million local smartphones are expected to be imported to this year, up 6% from 2015. The smartphone market previously recorded double-digit growth.
The only driver for smartphone sales is fierce competition among mobile operators, driving prices lower to attract new customers to migrate to fourth-generation (4G) wireless service, he said. Smartphone sales account for 50% of the overall mobile phone market.
Mr Jarit said the value of the local smartphone market will grow 4% to reach 137 billion baht this year as the average price of smartphones has dropped to 5,900 baht from 8,000 in 2014.
Thailand's PC sector, which combines desktops and notebooks, is expected to contract 2% over the next five years. This year local PCs will reach 2.38 million units, down from 2.55 million last year.
IDC predicts the average PC sales price will rise to 22,000 baht this year from 19,000 baht last year thanks to higher demand for gaming PCs. Total PC sales value is projected at 52 billion baht this year, up from 49 billion last year.
"2016 will be the worst year for local tablet sales, which will sharply decline by 40% year-on-year to 800,000 units, compared with 3 million units in 2014," he said.
Mr Jarit said Thailand's connected smart device sales might grow 5% by 2020 as the country needs new innovation and spending to drive the country's digital economy.
The government and the private sector should invest in apps for the Internet of Things and augmented and virtual reality in order to increase the industry's competitiveness, he said.