"Consumer sentiment is stabilizing as the economy works through the final months of a historically long recession," said Shawn DuBravac, CEA’s economist and director of research. "While expectations for an improved employment outlook hit the lowest level in the history of the Indexes, consumers continue to feel more secure about their own financial well-being. As we’ve seen in past recoveries, unemployment rates will not likely go down until after the recession has ‘officially’ ended.”
Consumer confidence in CE and technology climbed for the fourth consecutive month. The CEA-CNET Index of Consumer Technology Expectations (ICTE), which measures consumer confidence in technology and consumer electronics, reached 84.4, an increase of nearly three and a half points from last month. The ICTE is up more than five points from this time last year and is at its highest level since August 2008.
"Consumer expectations around tech spending continue to improve as we head into the important second half of 2009," said DuBravac. "It appears that overall consumer spending has bottomed out as consumers continue to expect to buy more CE and expect to spend more on their CE purchases in the months ahead."
