Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

How Many Consumers Actually Have VR Headsets?

Parks Associates released new consumer research this week showing that 2 percent of U.S. broadband households, or 2.3 million households, own a virtual reality headset. The survey of 10,000 U.S. broadband households reportedly reveals that 5 percent of U.S. broadband households plan to buy a VR headset in 2016, an increase from only 1 percent who made a purchase the year prior.

“The big change in VR for 2016 has been the availability or pending availability of VR headsets from companies such as Facebook (Oculus Rift), Google (Google Cardboard) and HTC (Vive). Sony PlayStation VR is expected to be released in October. We expect gamers to be the initial market for VR,” Barbara Kraus, Parks Associates director of research, says. “VR is an immersive experience, and more is better for gamers – more immersion, better sound, better graphics, and more players. The mass market is more likely to adopt mobile VR, which will be less expensive and uses a tool – the smartphone – that the majority of U.S. consumers own.”

From the article "How Many Consumers Actually Have VR Headsets?" by Laura Hamilton.

Previously In The News

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...

7-Eleven rolls out Apple Pay, Google Pay to all US stores

Mobile payment apps have gotten off to a slow start and there have been conflicting analyses of their market potential. For instance, customer use of digital wallets stalled in the past year because t...

Starbucks has the most-used mobile payment app

Retailers and banks have their own mobile payment options. At least one research report from Parks Associates said that shoppers prefer mobile payment apps from retailers, and eMarketer noted that the...

AT&T-Time Warner Mega-Deal: Merger For New Media Era Or A Bad Remake?

Pay-TV operators are seeing a “slow erosion of the core business,” analyst at Parks Associates said. “After years of attempts to be more than just a ‘dumb pipe,’ pay-TV operators have come to reali...