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

IoT and 5G: New Revenues, Use Cases, Value-added Services

Among the U.S. broadband households that participated in a Parks Associates survey, 6-9 percent reported ownership of a wearable camera in 1Q 2017, and 9 percent were likely to purchase a wearable cam...

Top 5 Data-Driven Mobile Services for a Competitive Edge

The most commonly used type of mobile application is social media, according to Parks Associates' data. More than 80 percent of U.S. smartphone owners under the age of 25 use social media and chat...

The VR Experience: Challenges for a Growing Market

The various VR technology approaches present unique user experience issues that current-generation VR headsets have yet to solve. Feedback on the user experience from those who own or have tried VR...

The IoT's Perplexing Security Problems

"IoT security is highly fragmented and many devices are vulnerable," observed Kristen Hanich, research analyst at Parks Associates. "There are a large number of devices out there with known weaknes...