Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

A new vacuum can alert you to incoming text messages. Why?

"The appliance category becoming connected does add a lot of opportunities to provide new information to a consumer," says Elizabeth Parks, the president and chief marketing officer at Parks Associates, which does market research on consumer tech and works with some manufacturers.

"How much energy is being used? Does that tie to any bills? Are there any alerts about the performance of the appliance? You know, especially that energy efficiency part can translate to dollars saved," she says.

"It creates a service model, right? You sell the large appliance, the refrigerator or the washer dryer, and then maybe you sell the maintenance that goes with it," Parks says.

Cost is one factor holding many people back from buying the premium AI appliances, as well as a perception that there isn't an added value in the smart features and security and privacy concerns, according to Parks Associates survey data.

From the article, "A new vacuum can alert you to incoming text messages. Why?" by James Doubek

Previously In The News

Walmart partners with MGM to boost video-on-demand service Vudu

There are currently more than 200 video services that bypass cable providers and stream content directly to a TV, laptop, phone or game console. That is up from 68 services five years ago, according t...

Apple explored a TV-streaming dongle as a cheap alternative to Apple TV

Apple's commitment to the high end has crimped its market share of streaming players, preventing it from dominating an exploding market. The number of households with a streaming player has quadrupled...

Fitbit, Apple Watch could bring new era of health monitoring

Sixteen percent of US households with broadband connections report owning at least one smartwatch, according to data from Parks Associates, a market research firm. That's up from 4 percent in the firs...

At CES 2019, Apple finally sets iTunes, AirPlay loose

The number of households with a streaming player has quadrupled in the last five years, according to Parks Associates, but Apple trails Roku and Amazon in market share, and it seldom discounts its pri...