In new research from Flurry Analytics, Apple clearly won the battle for holiday shoppers smartphone dollars. Based on activations of smartphones and tablets during the period of 12/19-12/25, Apple took a healthy 44% bite out of the market…well ahead of second place finisher Samsung (21%), who has struggled in the wake of a battery-blowup scandal. But when compared to last year…some surprises emerge.
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Readers Pick Our Top Ten Stories of 2016
As the end of the year rapidly approaches, it’s a great time to look back on 2016 to remember the big stories of the year. Some of these stories were ultimately eclipsed by subsequent ones – and some of them will continue to resonate through 2017 and beyond.
See which stories our readers picked as the Top Ten of 2016…
CTA Predicts Record Black Friday Week
Nearly 50% of the Entire U.S. Population Will Buy Tech Then
In a very bullish release from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the organization predicts that nearly half of all consumers in America (47%) will buy a technology product during Black Friday week, based on a newly completed survey. That result means 116 million Americans will buy tech – ten percent more than last year.
See more on this CTA survey, including what consumers will buy… [Read more…] about CTA Predicts Record Black Friday Week
Houzz Smart Home Study Results Offer Some Surprises
Security & Thermostats are Top Smart Home Priorities
Being the marketers that we are, when we heard that Houzz was going to present the results of their first ever Smart Home Trends Study at CEDIA 2016, well we put that on our schedule. At the appointed hour, we listened closely as Liza Hausman, Houzz’s Vice President of Industry Marketing and Dave Pedigo from CEDIA patiently went through and explained the results – and while the results were unremarkable, they were interesting nonetheless. And, there were a couple of surprises.
See details on what the results from the Houzz study were… [Read more…] about Houzz Smart Home Study Results Offer Some Surprises
New Size & Scope Survey Results Released at CEDIA 2016
As is their normal practice, CEDIA released selected results from their 2016 Size and Scope of the Residential Electronic Systems Market survey in their booth during CEDIA 2016. The presentation this year, like last year, was made by Dave Pedigo. However, unlike last year, this year Pedigo has been put in charge of market research, a post that has been open since Erica Shonkweiler left some time ago.
Last year, we reported on the some of the surprising results from the survey. Some of those results were so surprising, they were unbelievable – and even Pedigo agreed with us that some didn’t appear proper. This year? Some of the results, if accurate, could be troubling.
See the results CEDIA shared with members at CEDIA 2016… [Read more…] about New Size & Scope Survey Results Released at CEDIA 2016
New Research: HDR TVs in 100 Million Homes by 2020
Market researcher Strategy Analytics forecasts High Dynamic Range (HDR) TVs will be in 100 million homes in the United States by 2020. This is a relatively quick adoption for this new technology, which is used by many companies as a step-up feature in their better sets.
See more of the data predicting this rapid ramp-up of HDR TVs… [Read more…] about New Research: HDR TVs in 100 Million Homes by 2020
Email Marketing Remains Tops For SMBs
Eye-Popping Effectiveness Stats
Market researcher eMarketer reports that the latest research on marketing trends for small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) – and in this case, retailers – shows that email marketing remains the top tactic for both customer acquisition and retention. This research, pushes back the notion expressed by some, that email is losing momentum.
See more on why you should be using email to attract and retain customers… [Read more…] about Email Marketing Remains Tops For SMBs
Pokemon Go Hits Major Milestone, Already
Now On More Smartphones Than Twitter
This morning we learned a stunning statistic – Pokémon Go, that new game that incorporates augmented reality and that is all the rage right now – has hit an impressive milestone. According to data from MFour Mobile Research, Pokémon Go is now on more Android smartphones than Twitter.
Why is this stunning? Read on to find out… [Read more…] about Pokemon Go Hits Major Milestone, Already
Streaming Revenues Overtake Music Downloads for the First Time Ever
Overall Recording Industry Sales Grow for First Time Since 2011
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) reported overall industry sales data for 2015 this week, revealing that for the first time in history streaming music was the single largest component of industry sales. Revenues from streaming sources accounted for 34.3% of total revenues, beating out music downloads from services like iTunes and others which accounted for 34% of total revenues.
Overall sales increased 0.9% to $7 billion, the first overall industry growth since 2011.
See more on the growth of streaming in music industry sales… [Read more…] about Streaming Revenues Overtake Music Downloads for the First Time Ever
Sorry Siri: Research Shows Consumers Aren’t Using Voice-Controlled Assistants
There is a lot of buzz surrounding Amazon’s Echo product, a tabletop computer featuring a voice-controlled digital assistant named Alexa. Alexa will play your favorite music, get your morning news update, find out today’s weather for you, and more. All you have to do is ask Alexa.
But before Alexa, we had Siri and other voice-controlled assistants, mostly associated with our favorite smartphone. But are consumers enamored with using voice-controlled assistants? A new study from marketing company 451 Research suggests that we don’t.
