Arlington, Va. — Consumer confidence toward technology spending and the overall economy both decreased in April, according to the latest figures released today by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).
The CEA Index of Consumer Expectations (ICE), which measures consumer expectations about the broader economy, decreased by 2.7 points from last month to 167.5 in April.
“The first quarter’s weather hindered an already tepid economic recovery,” said Shawn DuBravac, CEA’s chief economist and research senior director. “Despite this month’s slip in consumer sentiment, I expect the economic draw back that began in the first quarter will continue to improve in the coming months.”
The CEA Index of Consumer Technology Expectations (ICTE), which measures consumer expectations about technology spending, decreased by 2.7 points in April to 87.7; however, the April 2014 ICTE is at the highest level for the month of April since 2011.
“On most accounts the first quarter was tough for the tech industry,” said DuBravac. “April’s sentiment numbers likely reflect that, but as the economy improves in the second quarter, I expect consumer sentiment will follow suit.”
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. To find current and past indexes, charts, methodology and future release dates, log on to CEAindexes.org.