Sales of virtual- and augmented-reality devices were up 300% during the six-month period between May and October compared with the previous six months (November 2015 to April 2016), according to entertainment research firm The NPD Group.

NPD said it has added VR/AR measurement to its Retail Tracking Service, aiming to give both retailers and manufacturers a clear picture of how the category is performing. The addition comes during the all-important holiday shopping season.

“Given the growing interest in VR/AR technology and the wide range of products available to meet consumer needs, we anticipate 2016 holiday sales have the potential to double 2015 holiday sales,” said Ben Arnold, executive director and industry analyst for The NPD Group.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

As awareness of 4K continues its slow climb, a greater number of consumers are gravitating to TVs that support the next-gen video format, according to a new study from The NPD Group.

NPD’s Connected Intelligence Connected Home Survey, based on a panel of 5,364 U.S. adults, found that 38% are “very, or somewhat, likely to use a 4K TV in the future,” up 5% since results from Q1 2016.

RELATED: 4K TV Adoption Outpacing HDTV Transition

NPD’s study also found that, as of Q3, 87% of installed 4K TVs had active Internet connections, illustrating that those consumers are among those most eager to stream content amid the growing availably of 4K-capable OTT devices from companies such as Amazon, Roku and Google.

RELATED: Google At Home With WiFi, Smart Hub, 4K Chromecast

More than one-third consumers are aware of 4K streaming media player availability, a number that rises to 52% among the millennials surveyed.

“While younger consumers are watching more video on their smartphones, they are also driving consumer interest in 4K streaming on TV, as these behaviors are not mutually exclusive,”  John Buffone, executive director, industry analyst, NPD Connected Intelligence, said in a statement. “As consumers make the shift to 4K capable hardware, content providers will be working to distribute 4K content, and in-home broadband speeds will become an important consideration for viewers to ensure a smooth 4K streaming experience.”

About 81%  of all U.S. smartphone users now use those gadgets to stream video, The NPD Group found in its new Connected Intelligence Smartphone and Tablet Usage Report, which based its findings via an opt-in panel.

As might be expected, usage is driven by users who are 25 years and younger who spend twice as much time watching on YouTube and Netflix mobile apps versus those who are older than 25 (see chart).

NPD said the younger set in the study consumes, on average, 6.2 gigabytes of data (cellular and WiFi) for video streaming purposes each month. By comparison, the older group averages 4.9 GB.

And while most of that video streaming happens over WiFi, NPD  Smartmeter, an opt-in metering app that tracks live smartphone and tablet usage, found that the average U.S. smartphone user consumes nearly 3 GB of cellular data per month, with video streaming as the top app driving that consumption.

That trend bodes well for new zero-rated video services from companies such as T-Mobile (Binge On) and Verizon (FreeBee Data). 

“Users are spending more time watching videos on their smartphones than ever before, as the adoption of smartphones that boast larger displays increases,” Brad Akyuz, NPD Connected Intelligence Mobility practice research director, said in a statement. “This mobile streaming behavior is further bolstered by the new offerings of wireless operators, such as T-Mobile’s Binge On and Verizon Wireless’ go90, which run on free sponsored data.”