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

The Cord-Cutter’s Guide To How To Watch The Super Bowl

For a few hours on Sunday, Fox is nixing subscription requirements and opening its Fox Sports Go app to anyone who has cut cable from their lives or has a temperamental TV antenna. After the game ends...

Amazon Prime Music Leads Streaming in the American Household

Parks Associates released new research that points to very good news for the e-commerce giant. Most paid streaming music services experienced an increase in subscriptions in 2016. Amazon Prime Music,...

Marketing could reveal AT&T’s future TV priorities, analyst says

Brett Sappington, senior director of research at Dallas-based Parks Associates, said that how AT&T markets and invests in DirecTV Now during the second half of 2017 could provide an indication as to h...

Dish’s third-quarter loss of 129,000 customers includes every single subscriber in Puerto Rico

According to market research firm Parks Associates, Sling ranked as the tenth most popular online-TV services, based on subscribers. Last year, Sling ranked sixth. But the drop isn’t because Sling is...