Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Competition and Regulation Threaten Sharing Economy Markets

Eighty-three percent of U.S. broadband households, or more than 250 million consumers, own and use a smartphone. A recent beneficiary to this mass adoption has been the sharing economy phenomenon, which includes sharing apps such as Uber, Lyft and Airbnb. These business models are augmented by real-time data including location, instant gratification, on-demand pricing, and easy payment options.

Their ease and convenience -- built on the intelligence of social, location, and mobility data through a smartphone-plus-app ecosystem -- have created perfect conditions for sharing economy apps to thrive.

In most cases, sharing economy apps connect buyers and sellers, providers and recipients, or owners and users through a well-designed, low-friction app experience that benefits both sides. When such experiences are delivered at scale, they can be massively disruptive or complementary to existing industries and business models.

Currently, 40 percent of monthly sharing economy app users in the U.S. strongly agree that they rarely use traditional services due to their sharing economy app use.

From the article "Competition and Regulation Threaten Sharing Economy Markets" by Parks Associates.

Previously In The News

Battle of the Bots: A Truly Useful Helper Is Approaching Fast

For a virtual helpmate to run your life, it needs to engage with the providers of all the services you rely on, from your calendar app to your Uber ride. Those providers must either partner with the c...

Building the Future of Smart Home Security > Engineers must invent new technology to enhance security products' abilities

It’s nearly impossible to find a household today that doesn’t have at least one connected smart home device installed. From video doorbells to robot vacuums, automated lighting, and voice assistants,...

Netflix Challengers: Are There Flies in the Ointment?

Parks Associates estimates that over the past five years, the number of SVOD services has more than doubled, to 271. And projections are that subscription streaming will grow at a faster clip than any...

New TV Standard Could Be Huge for Cord Cutters, But Privacy Concerns Linger

As cable providers continue to jack up prices and flail at efforts to improve customer service, more and more users are cutting the cord and embracing over the air (OTA) broadcasts via antenna. One re...