Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

IRobot faces a murky future amid rising Roomba competitors

The company is still “number one,” said Elizabeth Parks, president of market research firm Parks Associates in Dallas. But it’s a shaky number one. Parks estimates that iRobot had nearly two-thirds of the robot vacuum market in 2018, but now holds only a 48 percent share. Meanwhile, rival robot makers like SharkNinja, Roborock, Eufy, and Ecovacs have been steadily chipping away.

One possible reason, according to Parks, is concern about data privacy. More advanced versions of the Roomba and other robots use visual sensors to generate detailed maps of the user’s home. This information is shared with the manufacturers to develop more advanced products, but it could also potentially be used to monitor users.

From the article, "IRobot faces a murky future amid rising Roomba competitors" by Hiawatha Bray

Previously In The News

NAB 2018 Day Two: Online video, trends in sports business, could podcasts create TV content?

“In 2018, the leading services will be competing based on original content, and companies are already shelling out millions on content creation; and that trend will continue,” Brett Sappington, senior...

Only 15% of US Consumers Used A Telecare Service in Past 12 Months

As consumers integrate connected devices and services ever more deeply into their lifestyles, they bring the same expectation and desire to their health and wellbeing. New research from Parks Associat...

Connecting the connected car to the connected home

According to the latest Parks Associates research, nearly two-thirds of US drivers want connected car functionality as standard on their next new ride and 25 per cent of consumers are already intrigue...

Competing Tech Support Startups Merge To Provide More In-home Help

The U.S. tech support sector is worth about $30 billion annually, according Reuters citing research by Parks Associates. HelloTech’s competition includes the Geek Squad, which is run by electronics re...