Brad Russell, Research Director, Connected Home, Parks Associates
As part of our “Internet of Things” session at the 2019 Innovation Summit, we invited Brad Russell, Research Director, Connected Home, with Parks Associates to share some of his expertise on smart homes and businesses. As an industry expert in connected home technologies and services and IoT data privacy, Brad took us through the data and data analysis on what consumers want, what they are buying, and the implications it has for the future of delivering connected homes.
Key Takeaways
“Internet of Things: Models for Delivering Smart Homes + Smart Businesses”
- Voice Assistants Are Taking Over
Nearly one in three U.S. broadband households own a smart speaker with voice assistant. Smart speakers are also the most popular smart home control platforms and are starting to influence consumers’ purchases of other connected home devices with 64% making compatibility with their current smart speaker their number one consideration.
- Opportunities for a Security Conscious Market
While the idea of personal security being achieved through smart home technologies appeals to over half of U.S. broadband households—and outranks every other “use” category—roughly 80 percent of the market is still uninterested in paying for professional monitoring security services with recurring fees. One opportunity to appeal to this market would be through smart smoke and CO detectors, which continue to rank highest in importance, willingness to pay, and likelihood to purchase among U.S. broadband household looking to move in the next year.
- Smart Businesses
Realizing the potential for recurring revenue and services through the use of data is the future of new single-family smart home business models. Whether it be building data, energy data, or otherwise, the future of smart home technology will move beyond just pre-installed convenience for the buyer and builder service referral models. Builder smart home business models will evolve and start to include data sharing and data partnerships that will open more revenue opportunities for builders.
- The Preference for Smart Homes
Nearly half of consumers are starting to show a preference for smart homes over comparable homes without tech. With this trend poised to grow and become a differentiator in highly competitive markets, homebuilders will need to shift their building to cater to this market that prefers smart connected homes.
The Alliance Takeaway
We have ascertained that the smart home industry is moving fast and consumer preferences and buying habits are constantly changing. Now, with more data enabled devices entering the home, and consumers showing increased preferences for these features, homebuilders should be preparing for the future of housing and looking into post-purchase monetization of a connected home.
Further Reading
Internet of Things II | Housing Innovation Alliance | 05.16.19
“Grid Lock-In: Pulte Deal Spotlights a Power Partnership” | Builder | 01.11.18
“As Smart Tech Grows, Builders are Pre-wiring Homes for Wi-Fi” | Construction Dive | 07.19.17