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

Millennial OTT Penetration May Have Topped Out, More Than Half Subscribe to Two Services

More than 85% of millennials in U.S. households subscribe to one or more OTT video services and penetration among Baby Boomers and older people grew more than 10% between 2016 and last year, according...

That Sound You Hear is Smart Speaker Sales Growth, Dominated by Amazon

That uncertainty figures to make the category interesting because it is increasing in popularity. Parks Associates said this week that 11% of U.S. broadband households plan to buy a smart speaker with...

Parks: Broadcast TV Decline Continues, Representing Less Than Half of Viewing on TV Screens

Live broadcast TV has plummeted to 44% of consumption on televisions at the end of last year, down from 60% five years earlier, according to new research from Parks Associates. The research firm said...

Smart Home Monthly Revenue Growth is Flattening

The home security sector is experiencing flattening recurring monthly revenue (RMR) growth as adoption of interactive services has passed the 50% mark, according to new smart home monthly revenue rese...