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

Second-tier boom to drive global OTT to more than 400MN subs by 2022

Overall globally, Parks calculates that there are more than 265 million households worldwide and that there will be more than 400 million OTT video service subscriptions by 2022. While Netflix, Amazon...

Amazon's DVR Scheme May Be Taking Shape

"Over the past 18 months and longer we've seen a renaissance in live content, and a lot of that content is moving online with consumer habits," said Brett Sappington, senior director of research at Pa...

Sonos Welcomes Devs With Open APIs

The Sonos Sound Platform allows the company not only to better serve its installed base, but also broaden its product portfolio, making its brand more attractive to high-end customers, said Brad Russe...

Voice Control for Connected Entertainment: Challenges and Opportunities

Smart speakers are becoming a more common platform for controlling connected entertainment due to a rapid increase in popularity and ease of use. Household penetration of smart speakers is expected to...