market research

2011 Was the Second-Worst Year for U.S. PC Sales in History, Except at Apple

Arik Hesseldahl in News on January 12 at 7:52 am PT

At least someone had a good year.

The iPad Strikes Again: Gartner Cuts Its PC Market Forecast

Arik Hesseldahl in Enterprise on March 3, 2011 at 7:30 am PT

Consumers are bored with notebook PCs and going crazy for tablets like the iPad, the research firm Gartner says, explaining a dramatic cut in its PC growth forecast for 2011.

Google: Yo, I Got Yer Office 2010 Upgrade Right Here

John Paczkowski in News on May 12, 2010 at 4:45 am PT

Office 2010, the long-awaited “cloud” version of Microsoft’s Office productivity suite, arrived at market today amid some measured trash-talking from Google. In an anomalous post on the search giant’s Enterprise Blog Tuesday, Google Enterprise Product Management Director Matthew Glotzbach advised against purchasing the software, arguing that users would be better served by, you guessed it, Google Docs.

MIT Researchers Read Consumers' Faces to Make a Better Taste Test

Jennifer Valentino, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on January 20, 2010 at 1:00 am PT

It happens all the time: Companies spend large amounts of money on focus groups and market research, only to have a new product fail when it’s introduced to the public. Researchers at MIT are hoping to help change that, using some high-tech tools that measure the emotional reactions of people as they’re testing a new product.

Videogame Sales Rise Four Percent in December; Best Month Ever

Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron's, Tech Trader Daily in News on January 15, 2010 at 5:00 am PT

The videogame industry posted sales of $5.53 billion in December, up four percent from a year ago, and the best single month ever, according to market research firm NPD. Hardware sales were especially strong, up 16 percent, and accessories were up 15 percent. But software sales were down seven percent from a year earlier.

Will Holiday Spending Peak Today?

Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on December 14, 2009 at 11:43 am PT

Consumers have spent $19.9 billion online since early November, up 3 percent from the year-earlier period, according to comScore. But today may be where the action is. The market-research firm said that shoppers spent $4.64 billion online last week, up 4 percent, with Thursday, Dec. 10 spending reaching $852 million (the third-strongest day of the season to date, following Cyber Monday’s $887 million and the following day’s $886 million).

Videogame Industry in Massively Multiplayer Sales Decline

John Paczkowski in News on September 11, 2009 at 5:05 am PT

The videogame industry may be recession-resistant, but it is clearly not recession-proof, as some once claimed. If it was, surely we wouldn’t be seeing the sixth consecutive month of declining sales reported by NPD. According to the market research firm, overall sales in the United States in August of hardware, software and game accessories were $909 million–a 16 percent drop from the same period a year ago.

Area Netbook Owner Still Waiting for Final Cut Studio 2 to Load

John Paczkowski in News on June 23, 2009 at 10:01 am PT

What’s the difference between a netbook and a notebook? If you know the answer, you’re in the minority…of netbook owners. According to a survey by market research outfit The NPD Group, 60 percent of consumers who purchased netbooks assumed they would function just like regular laptops. Consequently, only 58 percent were satisfied with their purchases.