Austin American Statesman

Smart thermostats are an increasingly popular purchase for home and business owners. According to data from Parks Associates, smart thermostats account for more than 40 percent of the nearly 10 million thermostats sold in the United States this year.

From the article "How to get $85 if you’re an Austin Energy customer" by Lilly Rockwell.

Sounds cool, right?

But there’s one big hitch. In order for any of these scenarios to work, you’ll have to have devices that can actually talk to each other. Many will only be able to perform these functions if you have compatible equipment in your house. If you purchase one smart home device you may find that your choices for other gadgets could be circumscribed if you want them to all work together.

“When they buy their first smart product, (consumers) have the expecta ...read more

Erik Charlton, Nest’s vice president of business, disclosed that nugget in Austin last week at the Smart Energy Summit hosted by Parks Associates, a national marketing research firm.

About 50 percent of U.S. broadband households own a programmable thermostat, but only 11 percent have a device that can be connected to the Internet. However, Parks Associates’ consumer survey showed that 62 percent of the respondents would purchase a Internet-connected thermostat if given a $75 ...read more

Parks Associates, an international research firm sponsoring a Smart Energy Summit in Austin for three days, focused on how the industry — from retailers to utilities to appliance makers — can encourage consumers to embrace technological changes coming to the home energy market.

The deployment of smart meters, the widespread use of broadband and the rise of smartphones and tablet computers allow consumers to manage their home energy usage, even remotely, to save money and mak ...read more

Research firm Parks Associates said in a blog post last year that app-based remotes do have a market. "We find that one-third of consumers in U.S. broadband households are highly interested in such a feature," the company posted in a blog entry on its site. "So, yes, this one is going to be a difference-maker."

From the article, "Startup adds high-tech to humble remote" by Alicia Mireles

Pietro Macchiarella, a research analyst for Dallas-based market research firm Parks Associates, said the industry is changing in a number of unique ways.

Social gaming, which passed $1 billion in revenue last year will grow to $5 billion in 2014, said Macchiarella, who is speaking on the topic at the conference.

And portable gaming continues to rise, with new devices like the Nintendo 3DS and the now-ubiquitous smartphone, which doubles as a gaming device.

"Everywhere you l ...read more

Kurt Scherf, principal analyst with Dallas-based market research firm Parks Associates, said Netflix and others simply adapted to changing trends faster than Blockbuster.

"Blockbuster had that opportunity a few years ago to set the standard," Scherf said. "I'm just amazed that they got passed so quickly by all these other players."

Blockbuster executives "really need to act now before Redbox really steps it up in that space, or they'll get left behind again," Scherf said.

S ...read more

Safeguards must be built in by phone service providers, said Heather Way, a research analyst with Parks Associates, a Dallas-based marketing research and consulting firm.

Industry experts say that spending on mobile advertising will increase dramatically in the next few years. A study from Parks Associates projects that the total amount spent by advertisers on mobile in the U.S. and Canada will grow from $208 million this year to nearly $1.5 billion in 2013 .

From the article ...read more