Google Home, Amazon Echo, Nest, Wemo -- those are just a few of the brands and products of popular smart devices in today’s homes. And the trend is expected to continue: New research by Parks Associates finds that 41% of U.S. households with WiFi intend to purchase a smart home product in the next 12 months. Of that number, 27% have “high purchase intentions.”
Parks forecasts that household purchases will reach 55 million smart devices in 2020, with smart smoke/CO detectors, thermostats and lightbulbs among the most popular devices.
In addition, Parks found that people’s privacy concerns may be dissapating. For example, 60% of U.S. broadband households with insurance are interested in a smart home product that can detect, notify, or prevent damage or loss from water or fire or theft. And of those, roughly 75% are willing to let the devices automatically communicate with insurance companies. However, a study released back in May from ReportLinker found privacy concerns were the main drawback for owning connected devices.
Safety appears to be an overriding concern: More than one-third of consumers interested in owning a smart home device consider a recommendation from an insurance company "very important." Parks also noted that smart home systems’ largest market is the security industry, including product categories such as door locks and networked video cameras.
In response, home improvement retailer Lowe's will launch in-store smart home centers at 70 locations nationwide in time for the holidays. More than 60 smart home products will be stocked, including those from Google, Sonos, Nest, Samsung and Ring.