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

Confused by all those streaming services? This app is here to help

A Parks Associates survey found that 31% of households had four or more streaming subscriptions in the third quarter of last year, up from 14% a year earlier. The number of streaming platforms has pas...

DirecTV breaks free from AT&T

“Although AT&T starts with a 70% stake in DirecTV, they will likely wind down their investment over time,” said Steve Nason, research director for Addison, Texas-based consulting firm Parks Associates...

Streamer Acorn TV is an Anglophile favorite, but can it help AMC compete with Netflix?

“They are trying to walk a tightrope,” said Steve Nason, director of research for Parks Associates, a consulting company that tracks consumer technology services. “They don’t want to sabotage the trad...

Why Netflix and other streamers are cracking down on password sharing

The losses are steep. Account sharing and piracy cost streamers and pay TV providers $9.1 billion in lost revenue in 2019. That’s expected to grow to $12.5 billion in lost revenue by 2024, according t...