People Have Lost Confidence in Technology, CEA Finds

It was no secret that the worldwide economy was doing badly, but CEA discovered just how bad things are and how seriously this has affected the technology industry.

By now, saying that the financial state of the world is bad would be an exercise in stating the glaringly obvious.

Most people only have a vague idea of just how things are right now, however, and this is something CEA (the Consumer Electronics Association) decided wasn't good.

As such, it studied the direct effects on consumers and paid special attention to the tech market.

Needless to say, the finds were not encouraging, since they concluded that consumer confidence in technology fell in September and, for the overall economy, declined for the fifth consecutive month.

“CEA’s proprietary sentiment indicators have been very consistent and accurate this year, predicting a decline in the economy well in advance of other metrics,” said Shawn DuBravac, CEA’s chief economist and director of research.

“Consumer sentiment has fallen throughout the year as the economic picture has weakened, but a dichotomy continues to exist between consumer sentiment and consumer behavior. While consumers continue to lower their household debt levels and avoid making some large purchases, retail sales and consumer spending have held up. Some segments of consumer tech, like tablet computing, continue to garner consumer dollars.”

That said, consumer technology expectations still aren't as low as those of the same time last year, but it is still the lowest point since May, 2011.

Either way, it says something that, for the overall economy, the expectations are at an all time low, seeing as how the history of CEA's indexes goes back to January 2007.

“Sentiment took another step down in September as deep drops in equity prices stymied any hope of a return of consumer optimism,” said DuBravac.

“The ensuing European debt crisis and the news of additional quantitative easing have consumers mired in uncertainty.”