Strategy in TECH...
In spite of the fact that the economy is continuing to grow as it powers away from the days of COVID shutdowns, a preliminary November reading of consumer sentiment shows a dramatic drop to a 10-year low, as consumers fret about growing inflation. While economists have long warned that transitory inflation would be a temporary part of our overall economic recovery, consumers are clearly concerned that this inflation may be hanging around for a while and it is already crimping their lifestyle.
In a survey by the National Association of Business Economists, a strong majority of all businesses – fully 58% – reported that they raised the wages they paid to employees in the third quarter, as reported by AXIOS. Nearly the same number say they will raise wages yet again in the coming months. While the news has some positive elements, especially for workers (like the smiling employees above), it definitely has some economists worried.
Whether you are a manufacturer designing tech gear for the residential market, or an integrator designing systems for your client’s homes, it can be helpful to better understand how they wish to use the gear or systems to consume media content. New statistical research shows that – no surprise – the average daily time U.S. consumers spent consuming media hit an all-time high in 2020…the year of COVID-19. You probably already knew this fact or at least suspected it to be the case. Now the data is in and between digital media and traditional media, the average consumption moved up by almost an extra hour a day.
But what you likely don’t know is – which specific media category saw increased use, which specific media category saw decreased use? And, most importantly, what happens now?
Bowers and Wilkins (B&W) and the famed Abbey Road Studios announced this week that they have formed a new collaboration to further advance the state-of-the-art for in-car entertainment. The two companies have worked together for years with Abbey Road studios using B&W speakers for monitors in their studios. Now the partners will extend their relationship in the furtherance of this new venture.
LVMH, the global owner and marketer of luxury goods carrying some of the most prestigious brands, reported on Tuesday strong first quarter 2021 sales growth that handily exceeded even the most optimistic forecasts of market analysts. This is yet another encouraging sign of a significant rebound in consumer spending – especially with the type of consumer who tends to be the primary customer base for the custom integration channel.
In new data from eMarketer, we learn that digital audio continues to grow even in the wake of a global pandemic. And by grow, they mean that the time users spend listening to this type of content continues to increase. Early in the pandemic, this didn’t necessarily look like it would be the case, as homebound consumers turned to traditional TV or social media (or both) leading many researchers to suggest digital audio would lose some ground.
Late last week, multiple news services reported that US President Joe Biden has signed an executive order directing a “broad review” of the supply chains for critical materials – critical materials that include, by the way, semiconductors. The fact is, this might not end well for Tech…
Amazon.com Inc.’s secretive tech innovation development center, called Lab126, is said to be working on a more robust, step-up smart home control solution designed to be mounted into the wall, in a bid to take share in the custom integration channel. The move, first reported by Bloomberg News, is designed to take on major players such as SnapAV’s Control4 and other “professionally installed smart home control” providers.
Moody’s Investors Service is one of the world’s largest credit rating services that offers ratings used by many investors who target debt investing, such as buying corporate bonds or equity investors. Moody’s rating can literally impact – positively or negatively – the interest or coupon rate companies offer their debt at – and therefore can be critical. Recently, Moody’s published a credit rating decision on Wirepath LLC – the company behind SnapAV.
How did Moody’s rate SnapAV? Read on…
No…that headline is not a question. It is a suggestion. So let me explain what I’m talking about. There are many ways I try to determine which stories that Strata-gee readers like. One tool, widely used in social media, as well as on other digital properties, is the ‘like’ button. So let me tell you about Strata-gee’s trial ‘Like’ button.
