People Are Buying More and More Smart Home Devices
Households are buying more and more smart home devices, according to researchers at Parks Associates.
The number of broadband households with three or more smart home devices hit 23% last year, up from 14% in 2018, the researchers said.
It’s a reminder to security dealers to be sure to continue to promote the smart home to customers that have smart home capabilities, as it’s quite common for people to add smart devices to their systems over time.
Perhaps it’s not surprising that the number of smart devices per household is on the rise, as Parks researchers found that the devices are not just a frill. Seventy percent of people who own smart home devices report using the devices “always” or “frequently.”
Smart Home Device Prospects
The most common smart home device, according to Parks Associates, is the smart video doorbell, found in 13% of U.S. broadband homes, followed by smart thermostats (found in an average of 12% of U.S. homes), smart light bulbs (11%) and smart cameras (10%).
Households with children at home are most interested in smart home devices. Around 40% of U.S. broadband homes with children at home said they have a “high intention” to purchase all four of those products, as well as smart door locks. Among smart camera owners with children in the home, 30% are using the device to monitor a child and 11% use it to monitor a nanny or babysitter.
Households without children are considerably less interested in smart home devices than those with children. Only about 14% of childless households have a high intention to purchase any smart devices.
Other good candidates for smart home devices: households with smart speakers. Sixty percent of those who own a smart speaker also own a smart home device, and 21% of smart speaker users use the speaker to control smart home devices.
New Smart Device Categories
Keep your eye out for some newly emerging categories of smart home devices, including indoor air quality monitoring products and smart devices targeting seniors who want to live independently.
Another emerging smart device category is energy resilience. These offerings include batteries that store excess power and, according to Parks Associates, are found in 9% of U.S. broadband homes.
Meanwhile, households that get a lot of packages delivered may be interested in smart storage containers that can only be accessed by the package recipient and by authorized delivery personnel.
SES is a full-service security hardware distributor that carries a full line of smart home devices, including smart video doorbells, smart cameras, smart door locks, smart thermostats and more. We have 13 fully stocked branches across the U.S. and a dedicated team of account representatives ready to assist you with all your security, smart home and other electronic equipment needs.
We will also be keeping an eye on emerging smart home device categories with a view toward carrying products in those categories when the time is right.