Privacy concerns are slowing smart speaker uptake, even as global headphone sales benefited from lockdowns and remote working, Futuresource reported Friday: Primary speaker concerns are how data is used and worries of “being listened to” by tech companies. Desire for high quality audio filtered through to streaming, said analyst Alexandre Jornod. More than 40% of service users say they want better audio quality; more than half are willing to pay up to $3 more monthly. Jornod cited Amazon HD as a catalyst. The rise in podcast consumption doesn’t appear to be cannibalizing music listening, said Jornod, as 80% of podcast listeners say they consume the same or more music due to listening to podcasts. Meanwhile, Q2 headphone sales are recovering. “Although March and April were hit hard, many brands came back fighting, with product promotions and multiple offers,” said analyst Adriana Blanco. Headphone unit sales were down 8% in Q2, but dollar sales rose on strength of true wireless models, which accounted for 40% of headphones shipped. Apple’s AirPods led the charge.

Industry should continue providing “meaningful information” to consumers about video game loot boxes and microtransactions, FTC staff reported. The agency issued the paper Friday in response to an August 2019 workshop (see 1908070065). COVID-19 has increased video gameplay, which potentially amplifies loot box concerns, staff said, namely whether the practice prompts compulsive behavior: “The FTC will continue to monitor developments surrounding loot boxes and take appropriate steps to prevent unfair or deceptive practices.” The agency noted recent self-regulation efforts “through odds and point-of-purchase disclosures.”

CTA’s Tech Tracker survey found 17% of U.S. homes canvassed Aug. 7-9 bought laptops that week, “as many families prepare to go back to school remotely,” said the association Thursday. That’s the highest percentage of laptop purchases recorded since CTA launched the biweekly tech-use survey at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, it said. “For many, going back to school in person isn’t an option,” said CTA Director-Research Lesley Rohrbaugh. The “collaboration” that technology enables “will be crucial for remote learning and social connection,” she said. High demand for telework and remote-learning connectivity tools sent Q2 laptop and tablet imports soaring by triple digits from Q1 (see 2008090002).

In Webex, Cisco has “the most trusted secure platform for remote collaboration for the enterprise,” said CEO Chuck Robbins on a fiscal Q4 investor call Wednesday. Webex had double-digit growth in the quarter, “as businesses, governments, educators and front-line workers everywhere have embraced remote work,” he said. “We expect this momentum to continue, as we have begun to see the conversion of free trials into paid subscriptions.” Many Cisco customers are delaying their purchasing decisions in certain areas, “while increasing spend in others until they have greater visibility and clarity on the timing and shape of the global economic recovery,” said Robbins. The COVID-19 pandemic has “triggered a massive and rapid shift to remote operations and automation to maximize personal safety.” The stock closed 11.2% lower Thursday at $42.72.

The Conference Board’s CEO confidence index had a 1-point uptick in Q3 to 45 points from the second quarter, it reported Thursday. A reading below 50 reflects more negative than positive responses. The board compiled the index in collaboration with The Business Council. About 38% of the CEOs canvassed expect to trim their workforces in the next 12 months, the survey found. With “uncertain economic conditions likely to persist,” more than a third also don't foresee raising pay in the next year, but 37% expressed little worry in attracting qualified talent, said the board: “Without substantial containment of COVID-19, widespread uncertainty will continue being the dominant cloud hanging over America’s CEO community.” CEOs remained pessimistic about current economic conditions, “though to a lesser extent than in the second quarter,” said the board. Nearly 90% said conditions were worse compared with six months earlier, down from 100% who said so in Q2. Only 8% said economic conditions were better. About three-quarters said conditions in their own industries were worse compared with six months earlier, down from 82% last quarter. About 17% said conditions were better in their own industries, up from 10% in Q2.

Local advertising spending in 2020 likely will be about $140.4 billion instead of the previously forecast $143.3 billion due to the COVID-19 pandemic's economic fallout, BIA Advisory Services said Wednesday. That would be a 6.1% decline from 2019 spending, it said. Broadcast TV and radio advertising projections of $27.9 billion are down $500 million from its previous forecast, it said, while mobile advertising will likely total $24.3 billion, also a $500 million decline, and its online/interactive advertising projection is down $300 million to $20.6 billion, it said.

COVID-19 forced CTA to scrap New York’s Rainbow Room as the venue for its annual Consumer Tech Hall of Fame dinner in early November, emailed Cindy Stevens, senior director-publications. CTA “is currently planning to move ahead with the Hall of Fame dinner at this time but we are tracking the situation in NY closely,” she said Tuesday. “We plan to host it at the Metropolitan Pavilion with CES Unveiled to be held earlier in the day, and the dinner that evening.” CTA’s online calendar lists both events as “not yet announced.” New York state is in phase IV of its reopening plan, with social gatherings limited to groups of 50 people. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) continues to bar indoor dining at New York City restaurants. CTA canceled CES 2020 as a physical show, announcing July 28 it will hold it as an all-digital event in early January (see 2007280034).

Though COVID-19 is obliterating virtually all physical trade shows on the calendar, the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) is forging ahead with its Certified in Exhibition Management credentials program and plans to convene the instructional CEM Week as a virtual event Aug. 24-28. “Earning your CEM designation sets you apart from others by showing that you have the academic and practical knowledge to efficiently and successfully produce exhibitions,” emailed IAEE Monday. “Now more than ever, it is crucial for you to stand out in the field of exhibitions management. Employers are looking for professionals that will get them quickly back on track when face-to-face events are back in full force.” COVID-19 forced the cancellation of physical CEM conferences in Baltimore and Austin, so IAEE is combining them in a single virtual event. By taking 10 classes over five days with five exams, participants will meet five of the nine criteria required to earn a “globally recognized” CEM credential, it said. IAEE said it created the CEM designation 45 years ago “to raise professional standards in the event industry and it continues to be the premier mark of professional achievement.”

Retail landlord Simon Property Group took a $315 million hit to its Q2 operating profit from COVID-19 through “rent abatements” and a “higher provision for credit losses,” said CEO David Simon on a quarterly call Monday. The company runs about 200 malls and other retail properties in 37 states. “Given the lack of local, state and federal government support for our industry, we went out of our way to abate rent for thousands of local small businesses, entrepreneurs and restaurateurs and other retailers for the period they were closed,” said Simon. The company estimates 91% of its properties were “open and operating” through Aug. 9, he said. Reopened stores reported their June sales exceeded 80% of their 2019 volume, he said. Movie theaters, gyms and restaurants are the bulk of “remaining tenants” that are still closed due to “restrictive governmental orders limiting or prohibiting their operations,” he said. The Great Recession of 2008 “pales in comparison to what we're dealing with” in the pandemic, said Simon. The number of bankruptcies “in our sector” is “tremendous,” he said.

COVID-19 forced Mozilla into a restructuring that will eliminate 250 jobs, including the shutdown of operations in Taiwan, said CEO Mitchell Baker in a memo to employees Tuesday. Mozilla’s pre-pandemic plan for 2020 was “a year of change” by speeding the infusion of more “product value” in Firefox and “adjusting our finances to ensure financial stability over the long term,” she said. The pandemic “accelerated the need and magnified the depth for these changes,” said Baker. “Our pre-COVID plan is no longer workable. We have talked about the need for change -- including the likelihood of layoffs -- since the spring. Today these changes become real.” Mozilla’s “new focus” will be on product, technology, community and economics, blogged Baker: “Recognizing that the old model where everything was free has consequences, means we must explore a range of different business opportunities and alternate value exchanges.”