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

Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Leading In OTT Subscriptions, Finds Parks

The researchers at Parks Associates have come up with a tally of the most popular over-the-top (OTT) video services as ranked by the number of subscribers. While the numbers are estimates from the fir...

Beyond The Statistics: What Smart Home Users Really Think

Parks reported that 80 percent of U.S. smartphone and tablet users who own at least one smart home device have downloaded mobile apps for these devices, but how is that population of users engaging wi...

Over 60% of Free Trial Users Will Pay for Service: Vimeo Report

For services considering offering a free trial, Vimeo says having an app is helpful. Potential customers are 33 percent more likely to sign up for a free trial through an app than through a website. S...

Hulu Mounts Push To Draw And Keep Subscribers: Executive

Luring and keeping customers is becoming harder as the online streaming market gets more crowded and subscribers, freed from cable television's contract model, can cancel service with a click of the m...