Market Intelligence Reports

• The Pro AV Sales Index (AVI-S) rose nearly three points in September to 58.2, returning to the same level recorded a year ago. The increase suggests that demand for Pro AV products and services remains resilient despite ongoing concerns around tariffs, higher gas prices, and political uncertainty.

•  Respondents cited the fall rebound, year-end activity, and government/university budget releases as reasons for the increase in sales from the previous month. Other strong pockets offset weakness: data centers, acquisitions, events, turnkey solutions, and effective lead-generation were cited as growth areas.

•   The September AV Employment Index (AVI-E) rose about one point to 57.9. Eight percent of respondents reported difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified technical talent amid rising labor costs and workloads. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payrolls increased by just 29,000 jobs in September, while unemployment remained at 4.2%, leaving both measures relatively unchanged. Globally, the employment outlook entering September was somewhat stronger. S&P Global reported that worldwide employment growth in August reached its fastest pace in more than three years, driven by strong hiring in services and improving factory employment. India and the U.S. were among the stronger markets, while hiring trends also improved in Europe and mainland China.

International Pro AV sales continued to expand in September, with the preliminary non-North American AVI-S rising one point to 55.7. Despite persistent geopolitical and economic uncertainty, demand remains supported by ongoing digital transformation and infrastructure investment, particularly across Asia-Pacific, while European organizations continue to invest in collaboration technology, AV-over-IP, digital signage, and smart-building solutions. The modest increase suggests that organizations are continuing to move AV projects forward, even as regional economic and political pressures keep the pace of growth measured.

^{₁Due to the small sample, the North American and International indexes are based on a 3-month moving average. The September 2026 index is preliminary, based on the average of September 2026 and August 2026 and will be final with October 2026 data in the next report.} 

The survey behind the AVIXA Pro AV Business Index was fielded to 2,000 members of the AVIXA Insights Community between September 28, 2026 and October 7, 2026. A total of 288 AV professionals completed the survey. Only respondents who are service providers and said they were “moderately” to “extremely” familiar with their company’s business conditions were factored in index calculations. The AV Sales and AV Employment Indexes are computed as diffusion indexes. The monthly score is calculated as the percentage of firms reporting a significant increase plus half the percentage of firms reporting no change. Comparisons are always made to the previous month. Diffusion indexes, typically centered at a score of 50, are used frequently to measure change in economic activity. If an equal share of firms reports an increase as reports a decrease, the score for that month will be 50. A score higher than 50 indicates that firms, in the aggregate, are reporting an increase in activity that month compared to the previous month. In contrast, a score lower than 50 is a decrease in activity.