Consumers Held Back October Tech Spending in Prep for Holiday, Says CEA

Consumer sentiment toward the overall economy slipped 1.2 points in November but is above that of last year, said a CEA report released Tuesday. Consumer expectations about technology spending, meanwhile, climbed 7.3 percentage points in November, 1.6 points above the year-ago period, CEA said. “Consumers appear to have held off slightly on tech purchases in October in preparation for holiday shopping, including Black Friday,” said Shawn DuBravac, CEA chief economist. For the holiday period, the association is forecasting 2.5 percent growth in tech spending, compared with 0.9 percent growth for the period in 2013, to reach a record $33.76 billion.