Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Helping Consumers Understand the Value of Smart Meters

As cities across the United States continue to introduce smart meters, consumer adoption and satisfaction are keys to making a successful transition to the smart grid. Utilities can help with adoption by implementing time-variant pricing. However, a major barrier to a successful implementation is getting consumers to opt-in.

According to Parks Associates, nearly two-thirds of broadband customers in the United States are willing to pay for a smart energy management service, but a lack of information and knowledge is hindering progress. The value of the smart grid is clear to utilities. However, despite the numerous benefits, smart meters still raise concerns for many mainstream consumers. Many don’t fully understand how they work, why they are needed and how it will benefit them.

From the article "Helping Consumers Understand the Value of Smart Meters" by Marcus Scheiber.

Previously In The News

OpenAI Eyes AI Agent Phone, Kuo Says

“OpenAI is not a hardware company and must prove its phone performs well against the competition in terms of memory, camera quality, size, weight, screen responsiveness — all of that can be a chal...

The Smart Money: The Evolution of Residential Access Control

According to Parks Associates’ research, ownership of smart door locks reached approximately 11% of U.S. internet households in Q2 2025, and smart garage door openers have reached the same adoption le...

Sports fans face increasingly steep fees and piecemeal access to watch their favorite teams. The government wants to step in

Some 43 percent of U.S. households with Internet access watch sports, and 70 percent use a streaming platform, according to a 2025 by market research firm Parks Associates. From the article, "Sport...

Netflix Price Increase 2026: New Rates for Every Subscription Tier

Seven in ten viewers say the same ads repeat too often, making repetition the top complaint with ad-supported streaming, Parks Associates found (February 10, 2026).  Low-cost ad-supported plans...