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

Super Bundling: The future of mobile bundling

According to research by Parks Associates, 94% of U.S. internet households have at least one subscription service, and over half subscribe to four or more streaming video services. This growing subscr...

Are Viewers Cutting Back on Streaming?

In a new report from Parks Associates, the researcher reports a significant drop in spending and a declining number of services viewers subscribe to.  "Consumers are spending less, but rather than...

Parks: Household Average SVOD Spending Drops from $90 to $64 Monthly

Parks Associates June 25 announced that new data found a 30% drop in spending for streaming SVOD services, with the average U.S. internet household spending about $63 per month on streaming video serv...

Average Monthly Streaming Budget Plummets 30% as Viewers Turn to Ad-Supported Plans

New data from Parks Associates shows that most viewers are cutting back their budgets with ad plans, though many are also cutting back on the number of subscriptions. Every major streaming service...