SOASTA Survey: Star Wars Beats Star Trek in Introducing New Technology

A majority of families believe upcoming film/TV productions will
introduce new technology that we will see in the future

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SOASTA, the leader in performance analytics, has released the results of
a survey that asked Americans what upcoming film/TV sci-fi production
will do the best job of introducing new technology we will someday see
in real life. The survey, fielded among 2,018 American adults aged 18
and older and conducted online in November by Harris Poll on behalf of
SOASTA, revealed that a majority of families¹ (53 percent)
believe that upcoming film/TV productions will introduce new technology
that they will someday see in real life.

In fact, one in five families (20 percent) believe that the upcoming
film Star Wars: The Force Awakens will do the best job of
introducing new technology that we will see in the future – better than
the upcoming Star Trek TV series (9 percent). One in five men (21
percent) and 10 percent of women think that of the upcoming film/TV
sci-fi productions, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will do the best
job of introducing new technology that we will someday see in real life.

Data from another survey recently released
in October by SOASTA revealed that Millennials ages 18-34 will rely on
online performance to prepare for the new Star Wars film.

Someday, we may teleport and hover bike

When asked about upcoming film/TV sci-fi productions, one in five men
(21 percent) and 10 percent of women think Star Wars: The Force
Awakens – with its Landspeeders, Lightsabers, Droids, Holograms, and
Interstellar transport – will do the best job of introducing new
technology that we will someday see in real life.

12 percent of men (and seven percent of women) cast their vote for the
upcoming Star Trek TV series, with its depictions of Teleportation, Warp
drive, Universal translators, Cloaking devices and Tachyon beams.

Just five percent of men (and three percent of women) said we will
likely see the technology from the upcoming film Independence Day:
Resurgence in real life.

Care about website performance Millennials do

A different, recent
SOASTA survey revealed that, among Star Wars fans, Millennials (52
percent) are more likely than their older counterparts to say online
performance matters in preparation for the new Star Wars movie.

Other research showed that Millennials will be relying on online
performance to:

• Watch new movie trailers (61 percent)
• Get updates on the new movie (43 percent)
• Read reviews of the new movie online (40 percent)
• Watch past Star Wars films (33 percent)
• Learn about the movie’s stars (30 percent)
• Buy Star Wars toys (18 percent)

“Given what we’re already observing this holiday shopping season, it’s
clear that our customers are seeing more web traffic and e-commerce than
ever before,” said Ann Sung Ruckstuhl, Chief Marketing Officer, SOASTA.
“Savvy online retailers who have adopted state-of-the-art performance
analytics solutions like ours are prepared to successfully battle the
performance ‘dark side.'”

Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll
on behalf of SOASTA from November 5-9, 2015, among 2,018 adults ages 18
and older. The second survey referenced was conducted online within the
United States by Harris Poll on behalf of SOASTA from
September 23-25, 2015, among 2,044 adults ages 18 and older. This online
survey is not based on a probability sample, and, therefore, no estimate
of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey
methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Gaby
Perez-Silva: gaby@soasta.com.

About SOASTA

SOASTA is the leader in performance analytics. The SOASTA platform
enables digital business owners to gain unprecedented and continuous
performance insights into their real user experience on mobile and web
devices in real time and at scale. With more than 5 billion user
experiences monitored, measured, tested and optimized every week, SOASTA
is the digital performance expert trusted by industry-leading brands,
including 44 of the Top 100 Internet retailers, such as Target,
Nordstrom, Staples, Home Depot, Sears, Walmart, Etsy, Nike, Best Buy,
Adobe, Intuit, Microsoft, DirectTV, Netflix and BBC. SOASTA is privately
held and headquartered in Mountain View, Calif. For more information
about SOASTA, visit http://www.soasta.com.

¹ For the purpose of the release, families are defined as
American adults who have children in their household.

Contacts

SOASTA, Inc.
Gaby Perez-Silva, 650-390-6700
gaby@soasta.com