Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Thermostat Wars: With Help From Apple HomeKit, Ecobee Takes Number Two Place Behind Nest

In the nascent connected home industry, startups now have the choice to tie up with platforms from either Apple AAPL +0.00% or Google GOOGL -0.30%. And going with Apple can make a big difference — that’s at least according to smart thermostat-maker Ecobee.

In July, the Toronto, Canada-based startup released a version of its $250 Ecobee3 thermostat certified by Apple to work with HomeKit, the iPhone maker’s program for syncing up smart home gadgets in iOS. Becoming a HomeKit-certified device has resulted in a major jump in sales for the company. Retail sales have doubled from August to September and then are expected to triple by October, the company said. And to keep up with sales growth, the company’s employee count has grown 20% since July and is now at 120 employees.

Ecobee wouldn’t say how many units it’s now sold, but it’s clearly doing quite well. In the past year, Ecobee has become the second best selling Internet-connected thermostat in the U.S., with 24% of the market, according to research firm NPD. Around four million smart thermostats units will be sold in the U.S. this year, based on estimates from research outfit Parks Associates, and so that pegs Ecobee at selling close to one million thermostats in 2015. Not bad for such an early market.

From the article "Thermostat Wars: With Help From Apple HomeKit, Ecobee Takes Number Two Place Behind Nest" by Aaron Tilley.

Previously In The News

The Education of Roku’s Anthony Wood

As viewers across America embraced streaming TV, the number of households watching TV on Roku-powered devices mushroomed from 9.2 million to 90 million between 2015 and 2024. Its platform revenue expl...

A Coldplay kiss cam goes viral and a CEO quits as morality police weigh in

At the same time, the prevalence of doorbell cameras, video boards, and retail and government surveillance systems create more ways for people to be filmed. With the massive growth of video devices in...

Why It’s Better To Not Assume Customers Want AI

A separate study described in the WSJ article, conducted by Parks Associates, confirms this trend. Of roughly 4,000 Americans surveyed, 18% said AI would make them more likely to buy, 24% said less li...

Amenity fees and resident demand for technology

A white paper by Parks Associates, developed in partnership with Groove Technology Solutions, examines the dynamics driving the adoption of technology amenities in multifamily rentals. It explores...