Consumer Confidence Highest in Four Years

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Consumer confidence in the overall economy is the highest it's been since February of 2008, according to the latest CEA Index released today by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). Consistent with post-holiday results in previous years, consumer confidence in technology spending fell this month.

Additional Resources
• Read more industry trade news from HomeTheaterReview.com.
• See our coverage of CEA's trade show: CES.
• Learn about CEA cancelling the Tech Enthusiast program.

Consumer confidence in the overall economy reached its second highest level ever in January. The CEA Index of Consumer Expectations (ICE) increased to 177.3, up nearly four points from December. The ICE, which measures consumer expectations about the broader economy, is up nearly two points from January 2011, when the ICE reached its high for the year.

"Overall sentiment continues to improve as the ICE has rebounded since reaching an all-time low in November," said Shawn DuBravac, CEA's chief economist and director of research. "Sentiment has improved by more than 13 percent in the past two months, which is a hopeful sign of consumer expectations for recovery in 2012."

Consumer confidence in technology fell in January. The CEA Index of Consumer Technology Expectations (ICTE) dropped to 88, down five and a half points from December. The ICTE, which measures consumer expectations about technology spending, remains consistent with this time last year.

"On a seasonal basis, tech sentiment is even with this time last year and the three-month average remains near an all-time high," said DuBravac. "We always expect a lull in tech spending coming off the holiday season and heading into the model resets in March. But as we saw earlier this month at the 2012 International CES, excitement remains high for the new and innovative tech products hitting the market this year."

The CEA Indexes are comprised of 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.

Additional Resources
• Read more industry trade news from HomeTheaterReview.com.
• See our coverage of CEA's trade show: CES.
• Learn about CEA cancelling the Tech Enthusiast program.

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