Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

IRobot faces a murky future amid rising Roomba competitors

The company is still “number one,” said Elizabeth Parks, president of market research firm Parks Associates in Dallas. But it’s a shaky number one. Parks estimates that iRobot had nearly two-thirds of the robot vacuum market in 2018, but now holds only a 48 percent share. Meanwhile, rival robot makers like SharkNinja, Roborock, Eufy, and Ecovacs have been steadily chipping away.

One possible reason, according to Parks, is concern about data privacy. More advanced versions of the Roomba and other robots use visual sensors to generate detailed maps of the user’s home. This information is shared with the manufacturers to develop more advanced products, but it could also potentially be used to monitor users.

From the article, "IRobot faces a murky future amid rising Roomba competitors" by Hiawatha Bray

Previously In The News

Hulu An Even Bigger Chess Piece For Disney And Comcast After Sky Deal – Analysis

“They have a unique proposition, not just compared with Netflix but also with YouTube TV or Sling,” said Hunter Sappington, an analyst with Parks Associates, in an interview with Deadline. “They have...

Study: 32% of smart tag owners say they use them to track other people without them knowing

A new report from Parks Associates says that 32% of people who own smart tags say they use the device to track another person’s location without that person even knowing they’re being tracked. “The...

Malvern-Based Home Automation Firm Bets Big On Europe

Smart-home technology is building quickly to a multi-billion-dollar business in Western Europe, say market researchers at Parks Associates, and the Malvern-based "Internet of Things" platform develope...

mHealth Study: Caregivers Want Medication Management Help

A study by Parks Associates finds that 11 percent of today’s caregivers are using mHealth tools that feature medication lists and reminders. However, that same study found that 27 percent of caregiver...