Strategy in TECH...
Famous New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra once said, “Forecasting is very difficult, especially when it’s about the future.” Yet another wise saying from one of history’s most quoted sages. Even so, lately many regular Strata-gee readers (some of my favorite Strata-gists), have been asking me to do just exactly that – predict the future.
That is such a risky business…only a fool would take such a challenge.
The Consumer Electronics Show – CES 2021 – opened this week with great fanfare, but no long taxi lines, no crowded booths, and no glitzy hands-on displays. That’s because this year, CES is virtual – or as the CTA (Consumer Technology Association) likes to put it, it is “all digital.”
Can they pull it off?
A new poll shows that the latest flare-up of COVID-19 – which is generating infections, hospitalizations, and deaths at a rate that exceeds those of the worst of readings from this last Spring – are causing an outbreak of another type…anxiety and dread amongst consumers. This sobering data suggests that an increase in anxiety in consumers could result in stalling our economic recovery.
Political newsletter Axios ran a surprising graph this week showing a stunning disconnect between the confidence of consumers – measured by the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index – versus the confidence of CEOs (tracked separately by the Conference Board). While it is not entirely clear just what the ramifications may be of this huge disparity in how these two groups are feeling about the economy – it is nonetheless a notable disconnect.
A new survey from Ipsos/Axios had lots of interesting details about how Americans are feeling at this unique juncture in time, as states begin to reopen their economy, with a commensurate rise in cases of coronavirus. As many readers may know, this is an area…consumer sentiment…that I try to keep tabs on, as 70% of the U.S. economy is based on consumer sentiment.
And one piece of this research jumped off the page and grabbed me by my throat – 8 out of every 10 Americans worry about a second wave of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Wow, surprising numbers from a new research report from Parks Associates shows that control system adoption jumped a full 38% in 2019 as compared to 2018. That’s a really big jump in a really short period of time.
No doubt about it, Crestron is on a roll. They have recently had a series of announcements – not of the ho-hum type, but of the more meaningful, perhaps industry-changing type. Now we learn about another new partnership being announced – Crestron is working with Logitech and Zoom to deliver HomeTime, an upgraded home video conferencing solution perfect for this strange new work-from-home (WFH) world in which we all find ourselves.
The race is on as marketers conduct myriad surveys to try and understand how the forced self-isolation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the consumer psyche now. Also, marketers want to determine if there will be any lingering effects in consumer sentiment – and perhaps more importantly, spending patterns – down the road, when life begins to return to some sort of normal again.
One thing marketers have discovered is that consumers are making judgments about your company and your brand, by looking at you through a COVID-19 lens – which, depending on your actions, could be either positive or negative.
The Coronavirus pandemic has hit America big time. With a head-spinning swiftness, the epidemic swept across the country with ruthless efficiency – first impacting densely populated urban areas (NYC, LA, Chicago), then spreading its tentacles throughout more sparsely populated regions of the country. It has extracted a devastating human toll, striking fear in the hearts of consumers, and brought a once bustling economy to a screeching halt…plunging it into recession.
We have never seen anything quite like this and for business owners and managers…we are truly in uncharted territory. With almost 85% of all Americans now subject to some form of Shelter-In-Place or Stay-At-Home order, everything except essential services, such as grocery stores and pharmacies, has been closed down – and most companies have seen their sales disappear. Will a fearful consumer complicate our recovery from this recession?
New research conducted this month shows another major impact of COVID-19 Coronavirus – the crash of consumer sentiment. A statistically significant survey of a representative sample of all Americans has reached concerning conclusions about consumer sentiment now and likely to prevail for months after the COVID-19 crisis passes.
