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CEA: Consumer Sentiment Toward Tech Drops To Lowest Point Since 2009

Arlington, Va. — Consumer confidence toward technology spending dropped to the lowest level since 2009, while sentiment toward the overall economy remained on par with August of this year, according to the latest figures released today by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

The CEA Index of Consumer Technology Expectations (ICTE), which measures consumer expectations about technology spending, decreased by 6.5 points in September to 80.7.

“Despite key product launches this month, broad consumer appetite for tech showed signs of waning in CEA’s most recent sentiment readings,” said Shawn DuBravac CEA’s chief economist and research senior director. “Given some broader economic uncertainties and a generally poor back-to-school spending period, consumers might be holding back on tech purchases.”

Recent research from CEA found that among the 51 percent of U.S. adults expecting to purchase CE before the end of the year, a majority (62 percent) plan to delay some or all of those purchases until Black Friday weekend or later into the holiday season.

CEA will release its full 2013 holiday sales trends forecast at CEA’s Industry Forum on October 22.

The CEA Index of Consumer Expectations (ICE), which measures consumer expectations about the broader economy, decreased by a mere 0.9 points in September to 161.7 yet remains 10.5 points lower than this time last year.

“Economic sentiment is roughly consistent with last month,” said DuBravac. “However, headwinds remain as we head into the final months of the year with acute near-term policy risks.”

The CEA indexes comprise the ICE and ICTE, both of which are updated on a monthly basis through consumer surveys. New data is released on the fourth Tuesday of each month. CEA has been tracking index data since January 2007.

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