This weekend Apple once again set records, selling over 9 million iPhone 5S and 5C smartphones. With consumers willing to spend money every year on a smartphone upgrade (and mobile providers now encouraging them to do so), it would seem like tech spending will continue to skyrocket in the coming years. However, consumer tech spending could actually slow in the near future, if new data from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is accurate.
The CEA today revealed that consumer confidence toward technology spending has dropped down to levels not seen since 2009. The organization’s index for tech spending expectations fell 6.5 points in the past month.
These results could be due to increased consumer patience. A CEA survey found that just over half (51%) of American adults intend to purchase electronics before 2014. Among those Americans, a full 62% of them stated they are waiting until Black Friday or later to make their tech purchase.
“Despite key product launches this month, broad consumer appetite for tech showed signs of waning in CEA’s most recent sentiment readings,” said Shawn DuBravac chief at CEA. “Given some broader economic uncertainties and a generally poor back-to-school spending period, consumers might be holding back on tech purchases.”
Though consumers seem to be putting off their tech purchases, Americans’ overall feelings toward the economy have not dipped. The CEA survey saw its index measurement for consumer sentiment about the economy drop less than one point in the previous month. Feelings about the economy have, however, dropped over 10 index points from this time last year.
