Creativity & Innovation
Marketplace Research
The market for child monitoring devices is fairly robust. The product will likely target parents of children aged 3-11, roughly. The total number of children aged 0-11 in the United States is 49.4 million, and this figure is expected to grow over the coming years as the population of the United States grows (ChildStats.gov, 2014). The millennials, a large cohort, are going to start having children in the not too distant future, and with immigration the total market is going to be significant. If even 10% of parents were interested in this product, that would be a potential market of around 5 million units initially, with new growth each year of a further 500,000 units. A total of 68% of parents said they would use GPS to track their children for safety reasons, which implies a potential market of 3.4 million initially with growth of 340,000 annually thereafter, and increasing over time (Albino, 2013).
Our own surveys have indicated that there are many parents who would be interested in this product. There is concern among parents that their children often run off when they are in public places, to the point where some parents feel that they need to call after their children every thirty seconds. Most parents in our survey expressed concern about monitoring their children, many expressed skepticism about child leashes as being overkill and looking terrible, and many expressed an interest in having a digital solution to this issue, because they are genuinely concerned about being able to...
Our product was conceived as a response to the child leash, which is a physical constraint not much different than a dog leash. Many parents have taken to using a child leash to keep their children close, especially when their children have a tendency to run off. This feature is the primary advantage of the child leash, but these things come with many disadvantages as well. First, they are ugly, and equate the child to an animal. Second, children may be able to break free from the leash. Third, while the leash can be acceptable for a toddler, they are less acceptable for older children. There are definitely many parents who object to the idea of keeping a toddler on a leash (Snyder, 2013).
There are different types of child leashes on the market. In addition to the basic leash product, there are such things as child leash backpacks. These products combine the benefits of a backpack with the child leash concept, and because of the backpack they are perhaps a little bit less "leash-like" in their appearance, partially resolving one common grievance about child leashes (Abbene, 2014).
The price points for child leashes are quite low. A quick search on Amazon shows that a basic leash costs in the $4-10 range, and backpack leashes cost $12-32. The more expensive backpacks are typically designed like cartoon creatures like owls and monkeys. While these prices are quite low, there is room for…
