March Highlights:

• The AV Sales Index (AVI-S) for March increased slightly to 59.5, this is consistent with March of 2025.  This figure suggests that the underlying demand remains healthy despite the political situation and rising cost concerns.

• The most common theme for March is by far increasing costs (21%), including higher prices for AV equipment, components, fuel, shipping, energy, and labor. Many respondents explicitly cite inflation, tariffs, and vendor price increases as directly squeezing margins, delaying purchases, or forcing project scaling and longer replacement cycles. Even organizations reporting stable demand note that profitability and budgeting are under pressure.

• The March AV Employment Index (AVI-E) increased from 52.5 to 55.1 in March. The U.S. labor market rebounded in March 2026, adding jobs at a pace well above expectations after a weak February. However, underlying conditions remain subdued, with slow hiring, easing wage growth, and a shrinking labor force signaling a low hire, low fire environment rather than renewed expansion

See the full Index report at https://www.avixa.org/market-intelligence/pro-av-business-index