Millions of U.S. households already using Internet-connected CE to watch video-on-demand, finding convenience and savings in these devices

Parks Associates reports three million U.S. broadband households plan to purchase an Internet-connected TV during the 2010 holiday shopping season, further eroding consumer need for brick-and-mortar video sources.

Nearly 25% of U.S. broadband households already own at least one connected TV device, and one-fourth of these households have watched a paid movie-on-demand at least once in the past month, according to Parks Associates' Connected CE Tracker, part of the firm's landmark Consumer Decision Process Service. Parks Associates’ analysts predict connected CE devices will be top sellers in this year’s holiday shopping season.

Only 38% of U.S. broadband households plan to purchase a CE device this year, but it’s the connected CE and smartphones that will be the most popular items. Connected devices are the future of content consumption and entertainment in the living room as they capture the broader trends of integration among different silos in consumers' lives. We will continue to follow their sales through 2011 with Connected CE Tracker.

Connected devices include Internet-connected game consoles, Blu-ray players, tablet computers including the iPad, and digital video players including Roku and Apple TV. By the end of 2010, more than 40 million U.S. consumers will have a broadband-connected game console, more than eight million will have a PC-to-TV connection, more than five million will have a connected Blu-ray player, and over four million will have a networked digital video player (such as an Apple TV or Roku Digital Video Player).

However, even the significant enthusiasm for these devices does not totally offset the drop in CE buying intentions reported for this holiday shopping season. In 2009, almost 50% of U.S. broadband households planned a CE purchase.

Manufacturers, retailers, and technology providers are noting the tight consumer purse strings and continue to roll out the deals. Consumers want deals; that is their trigger as economic conditions have made them more cautious buyers. Market players must stress the value and convenience of Internet-connected devices. It helps that consumers may choose to save the cost of a video membership and eliminate a trip to the store or kiosk.

For more information about Connected CE Tracker or Consumer Decision Process Service, visit http://www.parksassociates.com.

Smartphones, Mobile Services, 3D TV, and Smart Grid are key topics at CONNECTIONS™ SUMMIT at CES

Parks Associates announced the speakers for the CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES in Las Vegas, January 7, on the first day of the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

Over thirty speakers will participate in sessions moderated by Parks Associates analysts and featuring consumer and industry research on smartphones, mobile services, 3D TV, and smart grid technologies. Session topics also include business strategies for service providers, status of energy management deployment and adoption, and the changing CE purchase patterns for consumers, featuring research from Parks Associates’ Consumer Decision Process (CDP) service.

CONNECTIONS™ Summit will feature the current CDP findings, which support the latest Black Friday numbers - purchase intentions are up slightly from last year, although consumers are still cautious. Certain product categories will have a better 2010 than others. Intentions to purchase a game console have plunged since 2008, while mobile phones and digital camcorders have surged, benefiting from new models like smartphones and the Flip Video camcorder.

Summit Sessions:
- Consumer Electronics Purchases: Are Consumers Back in the Buying Mood?
- The Connected TV – Displays and Beyond
- Service Provider Strategies for the Connected Home
- The Mobile Aspect of Unified Infotainment: Opportunities and Challenges
- Advances in Television Advertising
- Bringing the Smart Grid to the Smart Home
- 3D: Adding New Dimensions to Entertainment

Speakers:
- Timo Bauer, SVP & GM Americas, NewBay Software
- Joly Benoit, Director, Connected Home Applications, Thomson
- Jean-Pierre Bienaimé, Chairman, UMTS Forum, Orange
- Tom Carroux, Director, Sales and Market Development, Irdeto
- Susan Cashen, VP, Control4 Energy Systems
- Steve Cashman, CSO, Exceptional Innovation
- Brian Chamberlin, Manager, Interactive Projects, NDS
- Chris Deutschen, Senior Mgr, Innovation & Sales, Direct Energy
- Jaime Fink, CTO, 2Wire
- Hope Fulgham, CEO/CMO, Piazza Advertising
- Ted May, VP, Strategy & Business Affairs, Synacor
- Arlo Rose, Senior Dir., Product Design, Connected TV, Yahoo!
- Scott Rosenberg, VP, Advanced Advertising, Rovi Advertising
- David Sandford, VP, Marketing & Product Management, TiVo
- Rick Schwartz, Senior Product Manager, PacketVideo
- Simon Tidnam, VP, Sales & Marketing, HDlogix
- Paul Woidke, SVP and GM, Advanced Advertising, OpenTV

Parks Associates Moderators:
- Bill Ablondi, Director, Home Systems Research
- Jayant Dasari, Analyst
- Tricia Parks, CEO
- Kurt Scherf, VP, Principal Analyst
- Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates
- Harry Wang, Director, Health & Mobile Product Research
- Heather Way, Analyst

Parks Associates will host a Networking Reception following the Summit. Event sponsors include Irdeto, Eyecon Technologies, and Premier Sponsors ActiveVideo Networks, PacketVideo, and RedMere. For information, visit www.connectionssummit.com or register at www.cesweb.org.

CE purchases low in first half of 2009, but consumer intentions higher for the second half

PCs and flat-screen TVs remain popular; netbooks starting to generate consumer interest

The recession continues to limit CE shopping, as nearly 50% of U.S. broadband households did not buy a CE product in the first half of 2009, according to Parks Associates’ Consumer Decision Process.

This ongoing service, which surveys consumers on their past purchases and future intentions for over 35 CE products, found consumers are still hesitant to buy, with fewer households overall buying CE than in 2007 and 2008.

The most popular purchases in the first half of 2009 were desktops, laptops, and LCD flat-screen TVs, with 14-17% of households buying these products. With 5% of households purchasing in the first half, netbooks are showing a strong market start. Intentions to purchase netbooks are fairly high for the second half of 2009; this new product category will be in over 10% of broadband households by New Year’s.

Parks Associates’ Consumer Decision Process service provides comprehensive tracking and analysis via multiple surveys throughout the year on consumer purchases, intentions, brands, brand loyalty over time, shopping processes, information sources, prices paid, future budgets, and triggers to purchase phases. The next survey will measure holiday shopping intentions of U.S. consumers.

Tricia Parks will present data and analysis from Consumer Decision Process at the upcoming Webcast “Year-end Outlook for Consumer Electronics Purchases.”

Parks Associates survey identifies impact of education and income on consumer PC purchase habits

For each $1,000 in income, U.S. households will pay on average $1 more for a PC, according to the Consumer Decision Process Annual Survey, which has quantified the influence of income and education on the amount consumers spend on specific CE products.

International research firm Parks Associates recently completed this survey of over 5,000 U.S. consumers on their 2008 purchases and 2009 purchase intentions. The research, part of the Consumer Decision Process Service, examines ownership and attitudes toward product categories such as PCs, MP3 players, LCD and connected TVs, home networks, and Blu-ray players.

Results from the survey show that consumers with a graduate degree spend, on average, $100 more for a computer than consumers with only a high-school degree. Income levels also affect the final price for computers, as households with $200,000 in annual income spend over $150 more for a laptop compared to households with $50,000 in annual income.

“The prices consumers pay for PCs and laptops are remarkably elastic, especially when compared to products such as DVD players, game consoles, and home networks, where prices are basically flat across different income and educational groups,” said John Barrett, director, research, Parks Associates. “These results allow us to measure the impact of specific consumer attributes, such as level of education, and use that to predict both the products consumers are interested in and how much they’ll pay for certain items.”

For example, Barrett says, higher-income households would be more willing to pay a little extra for a better laptop, whereas they see less value in paying extra for a high-end DVD player. As a result, high- and low-income households pay basically the same for a DVD player.

Tricia Parks, CEO, Parks Associates, and Vipin Jain, CEO, Retrevo, presented research from the Consumer Decision Process Annual Survey on June 3 at CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference & Showcase. Their presentation, Navigating the Changing CE Purchase Process, discussed the impact of the recession and the need for flexibility in selling CE to consumers, especially as the power of brand has diminished.

For the full press release, click here.