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

Canny and Connected

A recent Parks Associates market snapshot noted the explosion of smart home services, with more than one-quarter of U.S. broadband households reporting to own at least one connected device, a number s...

Canny and Connected

A recent Parks Associates market snapshot noted the explosion of smart home services, with more than one-quarter of U.S. broadband households reporting to own at least one connected device, a number s...

IoT and 5G: New Revenues, Use Cases, Value-added Services

Among the U.S. broadband households that participated in a Parks Associates survey, 6-9 percent reported ownership of a wearable camera in 1Q 2017, and 9 percent were likely to purchase a wearable cam...

Top 5 Data-Driven Mobile Services for a Competitive Edge

The most commonly used type of mobile application is social media, according to Parks Associates' data. More than 80 percent of U.S. smartphone owners under the age of 25 use social media and chat...