Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Smart thermostats are tough sell, but ComEd hopes rebates boost interest

A study released this month by Parks Associates found only 18 percent of consumers would buy a smart thermostat at $250, but offering a $100 rebate more than doubled the pool of interested buyers.

"The market for smart thermostats is still in the early adopter phase," said Tom Kerber, director of internet of things strategy for Parks Associates, a Texas-based consumer technology research and consulting company. "To move beyond early adopters, they have to offer products at a lower price point."

Kerber said prices for the first-generation smart thermostats started at about $400 but have dropped to about $250 for Nest and other leading products. He said breaking through the $150 price point opens it up to a broader market.

From the article "Smart thermostats are tough sell, but ComEd hopes rebates boost interest" by Robert Channick.

Previously In The News

Smart Homes Are Cool, But Are They Safe?

Parks Associates found that there was little difference when it came to concerns about someone controlling smart products uninvited versus accessing the historical data products generate. In both case...

Connected CE purchases show steady decline since 2008

“Today, consumers are satisfied with many of their existing products, provided they are working well,” said Tricia Parks, President, CEO, and Founder, Parks Associates. “Many product categories are fo...

User experience key focus for smart TVs and SMPs

A Parks Associates report finds that makers of smart TVs and streaming media players (SMPs) are shifting strategies to focus on the user experience (UX) as device sales start to flatten out. Accord...

Google continues to ignore the Chromecast, the best product it ever made

The numbers also suggest customers, at least in the United States, have begun to pick Roku and Amazon over Google. A study by Parks Associates found that the Chromecast now makes up only 11% of the me...