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

Inviting Developers To Reshape Siri: Is Apple Desperate?

Meanwhile, in a similarly unsettling development for Apple, the company appears to be playing catch-up in an area it has long dominated: mobile hardware. As Amazon’s Echo continues to gain traction --...

Mobile Drives Ad Spend & Content Creation, But Hurdles Remain

What's more, Parks Associates found that about seven in 10 Americans watch a short video on their phones each day. Meanwhile, 20% of mobile video viewers spend a half hour or more watching short-form...

New Insights On TV Everywhere, Millennials' OTT Habits

Meanwhile, the latest data from Parks Associates’ OTT Video Market Tracker confirm that while Millennials’ viewing consumption habits do differ somewhat from the broader population’s, they aren’t will...

Apple Reportedly In Talks To Buy Tidal, Jay Z's Music Streaming Service

In a similarly unsettling development for Apple, the tech giant appears to be playing catch-up in an area it has long dominated: mobile hardware. As Amazon’s Echo continues to gain traction -- and Goo...