ARLINGTON, VA.—Like the first leaves of fall, consumers’ expectations for purchasing new technology fell this October, but it all is likely the calm before the holiday season storm.
According to the Consumer Electronics Association Index of Consumer Technology Expectations, consumer expectations for technology spending dropped 5.5 points to 83.3 in October. However, this is consistent with previous years, as many expect it to be a conservative move by consumers in advance of expected sales during the traditional holiday shopping season.
CEA’s annual holiday outlook shows 71 percent of consumers—10 percent more than in 2014—are planning to wait until November or December to begin holiday shopping, while only 24 percent—down 31 percent—expected to do holiday shopping in October or earlier.
The recent drop for October likely had little to do with the overall view of the economy, as the CEA Index of Consumer Expectations dropped just 0.6 points from September.
