For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Mass-Market Appeal Pushes Hybrids Mainstream

by J.P. Gownder, Abe Garon, July 14, 2009

A decade ago, the first mass-market hybrid vehicles were sold to consumers in the US. Since then, the market has enjoyed 10 straight years of growth. Spurred on by a growing green movement and skyrocketing gas prices, hybrids offer consumers a strong . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

A Consumer Product Strategy Introduction: What Works In Online Company Forums?

by J.P. Gownder, May 11, 2009

In this evaluation of consumer usage of online company forums, consumer product strategists learn why they should create an internal resource to tap consumer insights when refining existing products, as well as developing new ones. This information can . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Consumers Are Ready To Embrace Touchscreen Electronics

by J.P. Gownder, Abe Garon, February 25, 2009

While touchscreen devices are still an emerging technology and an area open to creative expansion, most consumers have used, seen, or own a product that utilizes a touch interface. The prevalence of touchscreen ATM, GPS devices, and kiosks, along with . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

The Consumer Product Strategist's Guide To Segmentation Analysis

Don't Leave Segmentation To The Market Research Department Alone

by J.P. Gownder, January 15, 2009

Segmentation analysis is the hardest task in market research — and it's the most important research that consumer product strategy professionals will use. Segmentation means not treating consumers as one unified market with identical needs, desires, and . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Netbooks Are The Third PC Form Factor

Netbook Strategists Should Position Them As Complements To A Main PC

by J.P. Gownder, January 6, 2009

Netbooks are one of the hottest consumer product categories in the consumer technology industry. Consumer product strategists want to know how many consumers are interested in netbooks and whether these inexpensive devices will cannibalize sales of more . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Selling Packaged Software To Consumers

Consumer Product Strategists Should Push Software Subscriptions More Aggressively

by J.P. Gownder, Remy Fiorentino, October 14, 2008

Four out of five US households have a PC, but most consumers spend $50 or less each year on software. Free software bundled with new PCs, as well as free and open source software and Web-based applications, have made it much more difficult to sell consumers . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

It's Time For Home Server Solution Packages

Partnerships Are The Top Priority For Home Server Product Strategists

by J.P. Gownder, September 16, 2008

The Windows Home Server market suffered a setback in 2008, harmed by a data corruption bug that took nine months to fix. Overall, the market remains at a very early stage of development: Few consumers have heard of Windows Home Server, and even fewer . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Home-Based Businesses Represent A Great Opportunity For PC-Related Products

Target HBBs As A Special Subsegment Of The Consumer Market

by J.P. Gownder, July 28, 2008

Consumer product strategists in the PC market — PCs, PC peripherals, and software — are missing out on a fertile market opportunity: the home-based business (HBB) segment. Long ignored or treated as a subset of the SMB market, HBBs in fact sit firmly . . .

For Consumer Market Research Professionals

Benchmark 2008: Putting The Personal Into The PC

North American Consumer Technographics

by J.P. Gownder, July 23, 2008

While personal computer penetration has reached a nearly ubiquitous 86% of US homes, the nature of the PC is changing for consumers. Laptops make up an ever-increasing part of the PC market compared with desktops. Laptops are more often personalized devices . . .

For Consumer Market Research Professionals

Benchmark 2008: Tech-Savvy Gen Xers Dominate The Home Worker Segment

North American Consumer Technographics

by J.P. Gownder, Remy Fiorentino, July 23, 2008

Twenty-one percent of North American adults work from home today, either as home-based business owners, by telecommuting, or when they take their company laptop home to work after hours. Home workers of all types show high levels of technology adoption . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

The Dual-Monitor Product Bundling Opportunity

Product Strategists Should Create Product Bundles To Target Young, Web 2.0-Savvy Consumers

by J.P. Gownder, July 1, 2008

Information workers have employed dual-monitor solutions on their desktops for years. Yet consumer product strategists aren't actively marketing dual-monitor product bundles to consumers. They're missing an opportunity. Nearly a quarter of US online consumers . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

HP's New TouchSmart Strikes A Chord

The All-In-One Touchscreen PC Embodies An "Age Of Style" Product Strategy

by J.P. Gownder, June 20, 2008

HP's new TouchSmart stands apart from its earlier, limited-release cousin with better features, new software, and a lower price point. Employing an innovative touchscreen interface, the TouchSmart is reminiscent of Apple's iPhone. It also shares some . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

The Future Of Apple Inc.

By 2013, Apple's Product Mix Will Make It A Credible Hub Of The Digital Home

by J.P. Gownder, James L. McQuivey, Ph.D., May 22, 2008

Consumer product strategists frequently ask Forrester how Apple's product strategy will evolve: What will Apple's product portfolio look like five years from now, and how is Apple preparing for that future today? Forrester notes that Apple has completely . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

US Digital Camera Owners Move Photos Online

The Internet Has Become A Key Medium For Photo Storing, Sharing, And Printing

by J.P. Gownder, Alexander Hesse, April 2, 2008

With more than six in 10 US individuals owning a digital camera, digital photography has gained mass-market status in the US. Digital camera owners are happy snappers who take about 28 photos per month, and they transfer nearly all of them to a home computer. . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Marketing The Socially Responsible PC

Dell And Microsoft Bolster Their Consumer Product Brands With (RED)

by J.P. Gownder, February 21, 2008

Dell is offering PCs, with Microsoft's Windows Vista software, cobranded with the (RED) campaign, a philanthropic effort to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa. This type of social responsibility marketing appeals to a brand-loyal group of US consumers. Women, . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Home Servers In The Digital Home

Windows Home Server Will Accelerate Growth Of A New Product Category

by J.P. Gownder, February 1, 2008

Consumers' growing digital assets in the form of music, photos, and video will require backup, management, and streaming. In multiple-PC households, complexity has grown, while backup behavior has stalled. Home servers can address these concerns and can . . .

For Consumer Market Research Professionals

Vista Early Adopter Research Trends

Consumer Data Shows An Encouraging Signal Despite The Noise

by J.P. Gownder, January 29, 2008

Forrester's latest set of consumer adoption data allows for a first look at Vista adoption in the first two months following its January release. On the whole, Vista early adopters tend to be more engaged with their PCs than XP users, especially in advanced . . .

For Consumer Market Research Professionals

How Generations Are Using Their Home PCs, 2007  (187 KB PPT)

by J.P. Gownder, January 8, 2008

What are consumers using their home PCs for, and how does this differ across generations? We looked at photo, video, music/audio, home productivity, and work-related activities.

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Benchmark 2007: Personal Computers

Multi-PC Households Will Adopt A Variety Of Rich Applications

by J.P. Gownder, September 27, 2007

Personal computers are a mature, 30-year-old industry. But consumers are moving beyond the single desktop PC model. Early Adopters are leading the way by purchasing laptop computers, creating multiple-PC households. These multi-PC households are becoming . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

The Next-Gen DVD Format War: Still Bloody

Blu-ray Must Drop Hardware Prices Quickly To Beat HD-DVD

by J.P. Gownder, September 21, 2007

Forrester predicted in 2005 that Blu-ray would eventually win a hard-fought victory over HD-DVD in the next-generation DVD format war. Today, Forrester believes that Blu-ray remains in a better position than HD-DVD — but that Blu-ray strategists need . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

Acer Creates A Global Titan With Gateway

This Strategic Move Will Thwart Lenovo And Give Dell And HP Real Competition

by J.P. Gownder, August 28, 2007

Acer's announcement that it will acquire Gateway is a clever plan, as Acer simultaneously improves its brand recognition, channel reach, and opportunity for gains in margin. Like IBM Deep Blue, Acer strategists calculated several moves ahead in the global . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

The Multi-HDTV Household Opportunity

Marketing To Every Room In The House Will Raise Sales

by J.P. Gownder, August 3, 2007

Most technology marketers spend a great deal of their time wooing the majority of US households that still don't own a high-definition TV (HDTV). This singular focus is a mistake: Selling second, third, and fourth HDTV sets to households that already . . .

For Consumer Product Strategy Professionals

The Age Of Style In Consumer PCs

Visual Design Takes Center Stage In 2007, Explodes By 2012

by J.P. Gownder, June 25, 2007

The consumer PC industry is entering the Age of Style, a time in which radical form factor innovations, increased aesthetic diversity, and consumer choice and personalization will determine which models, and which PC vendors, win or lose. Although style . . .

For Consumer Market Research Professionals

Best Practices In SOHO Research

Maximize The Precision And Usefulness Of Small Office/Home Office Studies

by J.P. Gownder, May 14, 2007

Market researchers often ask Forrester about how to precisely measure the market opportunity for their products among small office/home office (SOHO) buyers. The best approach? Disaggregate into five subgroups: consumers who work from home, formal telecommuters, . . .

For Consumer Market Research Professionals

Most US Consumers Won't Pay For In-Home Services  (176 KB PPT)

by J.P. Gownder, May 11, 2007

Although just 5% of US consumers currently use in-home services (IHS), 27% are interested in using them in the future. Many "intenders" currently plan to spend less than $50 for IHS, so marketers still have their work cut out for them to try and sell . . .