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Latest Yelp Data Shows Q1 Interest in Home Theater Installation was Up 562%

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Yelp reported new consumer trends in Q1 2025

Yelp, the social media site that was started to help you find the best local Chinese takeout, but now covers a very wide range of interests, such as home improvement, has released a comprehensive report of the latest trends in site user interest. In a report titled 2025 Summer Home & Outdoor Trends, Yelp noted a recent surge in user interest in a wide variety of home remodeling projects, including a huge leap in those making project requests for “home theater installation,” up 562% as compared to 2024.

See more on the surprising Yelp trend data for 2025…

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Declining Inflation Propels Consumer Sentiment Higher & Bodes Well for 2024 Economy

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Photo of shoppers

**STORY UPDATED 2/2/24**

NOTE: Scroll down for a brief update – The latest economic data showing lower inflation appears to be finally registering with consumers as the latest preliminary reading of the University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment jumped more than a massive 13% in just one month. This took the index to its highest reading in two-and-a-half years (since July 2021).

See more on the U of M Index of Consumer Sentiment

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New Study Finds 80% of Companies Will Track RTO Attendance in 2024

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Companies are getting serious about RTO policies

A new study on corporate return-to-office (RTO) plans shows that 8 in 10 companies say they will track employee office attendance in 2024. The survey also found that those who fail to follow company policy on in-office attendance will face negative consequences for not complying.

See what else this study found on rapidly changing company attendance policies

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A First – Data Shows Shipments of Smart Home Devices Dropped in 2022

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Graphic of digital TV a smart home device

For the first time since the category has been independently tracked, new data from market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) shows that global shipments of smart home devices actually declined in 2022. Not only that but while the market researcher predicts that 2023 will see a bit of a rebound overall, its largest segment – Smart TVs – will likely decline again this year.

See the latest data on smart home device shipments

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Massive Population Shifts Coming; India to Overtake China in 2023

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This month, the United Nations released its report on the latest global population trends and it delivered quite a few surprises…and even a bit of a shock. The data shows that major population shifts are coming…and coming soon. First, in a bit of a surprise, we learn that by November 15 of this year, the world population will total 8 billion people. The U.N. says that, in the world we hope to build, that population number will represent “8 billion opportunities to lead dignified and fulfilled lives.” But it also represents 8 billion reasons to remember “our shared responsibility to care for our planet.”

And, in a bit of a shock, we learn that by next year, China will be replaced as the most populous nation in the world by India, whose rate of population growth supersedes China’s. Surprised?

Learn more on the population shifts around the globe

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New Smart Audio Report Shows Voice Tech is Growing, but Rate Slows

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cover page of the smart audio report

In the latest research on the smart audio market, analysts see clear progress in the expansion of voice technology both in terms of the growing number of devices containing it, and the expanding uses to which voice control is being used. While much of the results of this latest survey are specific to smart speakers, this version goes well beyond that to looking at voice in all sorts of devices.

See all the latest on the growth of Smart Audio

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New CEDIA Market Study Offers Useful Data with Some Interesting Twists

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title slide from CEDIA market study

For the first time in quite a while, CEDIA released the results of a new market study that helped to illuminate where the market is at today. There were, as usual, some significant surprises presented – perhaps the first was an interesting change in methodology that may perhaps serve to deliver a clearer view of key market data.

See what I found in this latest CEDIA market study…

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Biden Administration Announces Major Supply Chain Mining Initiative

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The Salton Sea is believed to hold essential minerals needed to boost the supply chain
The Salton Sea in California is believed to be a site rich in essential minerals [Photo: Gabriella Angotti-Jones for The New York Times]

Boosting Local Supply of Essential Minerals

The Biden Administration announced on Tuesday a comprehensive public/private mining initiative that is designed to boost the local supply of essential minerals. These minerals are required in a wide range of strategic products and the administration’s new programs will achieve several goals: they will use new technology to boost the mining of the minerals in new areas of the country, create a large number of good-paying American jobs, and reduce our reliance on China. What looks to be a savvy program, this new initiative partners with key American companies to improve the U.S.’s supply chain structure in order to make it more robust to “build a future that’s made in America.”

See more on the Administration’s plan to improve the supply chain

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Leaked Internal Amazon Docs Show Users Quickly Tire of Smart Speakers

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Amazon products

End of the Smart Speaker Era?

Amazon is widely credited with having created the entire smart speaker category with their Alexa voice-controlled Echo smart speaker and other products. The company has sold millions of them since their introduction in 2015, especially at often insane sale prices during the holiday selling season. But Bloomberg Businessweek has come into possession of leaked internal Amazon documents that paint a portrait of a category that appears to be in serious trouble, principally because it fails – often miserably – to retain consumer interest.

And, the documents show, not only do consumers lose their interest…they lose it quickly.

See more on smart speaker problems identified in Amazon internal docs

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CTA Says These are the Top Tech Trends; Do You Agree with Their Picks?

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Steve Koenig, VP of Research for the CTA at CES 2022

On Monday evening (January 3, 2022), as part of their festivities kicking off the 2022 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Vice President of Research for the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) Steve Koenig shared what the association believes to be some of the top trends in Tech today. Saying, “…we’ve witnessed an abundance of innovation across this whole season and certainly over the past year…”

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