‍(Part 1 of 2)

It takes one door lock or smart light bulb for people to start taking interest in the capabilities of smart home technology and having them integrated with their next smart home purchase. That in a nutshell is how people are easing their way to smart home technology – which certainly needs some renaming by now given the fact that the technology is being used beyond residential projects. 

The growing adoption of smart home technology in US households will naturally taper down as smart devices become more integrated together – but that is even better as the reason for it will be largely based on it becoming less fragmented. Companies like Premium Digital Control & Automation in South Florida are already providing smart integrated systems that make customers enjoy their homes and workplaces even more.  

From having some form of home device like 41.9% of US households today, customers will end up clamoring for more as part of running their households or businesses efficiently, even securely. By 2023, 60 million US households will use smart home devices, more than doubling 2018’s count and this will create demand for efficient ecosystems. By 2025, the percentage will reach 48.4%. These were from studies released by e-marketer, most recently in December 2021.  

Who will lead the market? From the studies, smart home security and utility devices are going to gain more interest. 

• About 8 in 10 smart security homes have a smart security camera. By 2025, 40.0 million households will have smart security cameras.
• By 2023, nearly 43 million households will have smart security systems or devices like doorbells, locks, and smoke detectors. By 2025, smart doorbells will be in 80% of smart home security households.
• Smart thermostats drive the smart home utility market—just over 88% of smart home utility households will have smart thermostats in 2021—while smart plugs gain in popularity. These tools are important for reducing household emissions and can be found in nearly 44% of smart home utility households.
• Smart locks will gain market share through 2025 because they’re easy to adopt and have a low price point.

Ring, SkyBell, and Nest have the most market share among smart home video doorbells by brand, yet many smaller players (“other”) collectively make up more than half of the market, according to a May 2021 report from Strategy Analytics.

Twenty-seven percent of US adults would want a video doorbell if money were no object, indicating that customers place higher value on smart security than on most other IoT devices, according to a September 2021 YouGov survey. If money were no object, figures below still place video doorbell at 27% in terms of desirability. 

Smart home appliances are not part of many integrated services, but they could soon be as these are expected to grow faster than other product categories. Smart home appliance users—those who use smart fridges and ovens, for instance—will reportedly maintain the highest growth rate of any category through 2025.

Currently, Amazon Alexa and Google Home hold the largest market share among smart home apps in the US. The duopoly makes up about half of all smart home app downloads in the US, per Sensor Tower’s July 2021 analysis, with Amazon Alexa at 28% and Google Home at 26% in 2020. 

Other players, like LG, are slowly gaining market share. 

People spend more time at home

The pandemic has led to permanent changes in how we live our lives. With the increase in flexible and remote work here to stay, people continue to spend more time at home. This means more time spent buying and using smart home devices that bring convenience to daily tasks and seamlessly connect to one another.

• Reliable connection remains the centerpiece of a connected home. Home automation has a long history, but the modern definition centers around IoT-enabled connectivity. Connectivity innovations, like mesh Wi-Fi, will be critical for a seamlessly connected home. For example, Amazon has built a mesh router into its Ring surveillance system, and Eero’s mesh Wi-Fi routers will support the new Matter smart home standard.
• The economic value of home IoT products will reach between $440 billion and $830 billion by 2030, according to a low-high-end analysis by McKinsey. The top use cases will be chore automation, energy management, and safety and security.
• With more time working from home, companies are also crediting IoT adoption with helping them reach customers and maintain business continuity during the pandemic. Eighty-four percent of companies that have adopted IoT reported that it has helped them during the pandemic, while 87% believe it is crucial for future success, according to an October 2020 Vodafone report.

Customers seek convenience

Products with the most compelling use cases—those related to security and utilities, for instance, as well as voice assistants—are expected to dominate usage. And new categories that enhance users’ lives, like health and fitness products, will expand.

Sixty-two percent of smart home device owners claimed efficiency as the main reason they converted to smart homes, according to a March 2021 survey from Quantilope.

US adults find themselves saying “Alexa, it’s me again” quite often. At-home smart speakers (32%) are on par with phones (31%) as the most popular way to use voice assistants multiple times a day, according to a May 2021 survey from Vixen Labs and Open Voice Network.

(To be continued)