CE research data from Parks Associates finds 36% of US broadband households who returned a specified CE or smart home device in the last 12 months cited difficulty in setup, installation, and usage as the reason. The firm will explore opportunities to improve user setup and create a lifetime customer relationship through connectivity and user-generated data in the upcoming webinar "Next-Gen CE: Reinventing Consumer Experience with IoT Data," cohosted with Copilot.

The webinar, on Wednesday, August 5, 11 AM CT, addresses adoption of connected products, the multiple levels of an IoT strategy for CE companies, the challenges in the transition to a connected platform, and strategies to capture the lifetime value of customer.

"Consumers are increasingly looking for connected products when looking at retail and virtual shelves, and with more manufacturers introducing affordable devices with advanced connectivity features, many companies are in a race to develop and deploy an integrated connected experience to their customers," said Kristen Hanich, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates. "Our research shows one in three CE device owners have experienced at least one technical issue with their devices, so product manufacturers can compete on the experience they deliver to their customers."

"Brands who are quick to embrace IoT data to optimize their customers' ownership experience will lead the next generation of consumer products," said Frank Zvi, Co-CEO, Copilot.

The webinar features the following topics:

-New strategies and tools to expand the CE business model from a single transaction to embrace the lifetime value of the customer
-Consumer interest in new revenue opportunities, including subscriptions, ecosystem sales, and brand loyalty
-Key CE marketplace trends and the factors for success or failure in the transition to connected devices
-Strategies for using user-generated data to drive customer engagement, improve product strategy, and lower returns

From the article "36% of CE and Smart Home Product Returns Due to Setup, Installation Problems".