Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Smart Home DIY: Nearly a Third of Homeowners Report Turning to Pros after First Attempts

According to Parks Associates research, 29% of consumers ultimately turn to professionals for help, even if they initially attempt self-installation.

Despite DIY smart home products often being seen as cutting into both the labor and product revenues of integrators, the pipeline from DIYer to prospective integration client seems to be widening if recent research from Parks Associates is anything to go by. Turns out, even if clients are starting out in DIY, a lot of them still wind up seeking a professional integrator at the end of the day to get their smart home systems in working order.

Parks Associates’ ongoing quarterly survey of 8,000 U.S. internet households reveals a clear trend: professional installation is not just surviving in a DIY age—it’s thriving.

According to the research, 44% of smart home device owners have used a professional for at least one installation.

Parks’ research reinforces this with hard numbers: 29% of consumers ultimately turn to professionals, even if they first try to go it alone.

Parks notes that many of these devices go uninstalled without professional support, leading to missed efficiency gains and underwhelming ROI for both providers and consumers.

According to Elizabeth Parks, President and CMO of Parks Associates:

“Consumers are looking for more than just devices. They want connected solutions that are easy to implement and fit into their lifestyle. Professional integrators are uniquely positioned to deliver this value by making smart home and advanced home systems work together and offering ongoing service and support.”

One of the most striking findings from Parks Associates’ data is the satisfaction gap between pro and DIY installations. For example:
•    Smart cameras installed professionally earn a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 49, compared to 41 for self-installed units.
•    NPS scores consistently skew higher across other categories as well when pro install is involved.

While younger consumers (ages 18–24) are typically seen as tech-savvy, Parks Associates’ data shows that 42% of this demographic struggles with physical installation, compared to just 19% of the general population.

This suggests that the next generation of homeowners and renters may be far more open to “do-it-with-me” models that offer guided setup or hybrid support services.

Parks also flags a less visible, but critical issue: product returns driven by installation failures.

From the article, "Smart Home DIY: Nearly a Third of Homeowners Report Turning to Pros after First Attempts" by Nick Boever

Previously In The News

One Bot To Rule Them All? Not Likely

In order for a virtual helpmate to run your life, it needs to engage with the providers of all the services you rely on, from your calendar app to your Uber ride. Those providers must either partner w...

Cord cutting to carve $33.6B out of U.S. pay TV revenues by 2025

According to recent Parks Associates’ research, more than one-third of U.S. broadband households are cord-cutters who previously subscribed to traditional pay TV. That comes out to more than 38 millio...

Coming in 2022: A big leap in smart home technology

Most consumers haven't caught IoT fever yet. "New research from Parks Associates indicates that just 36% of US broadband households have one smart home device, a percentage that decreases if all house...

The two, opposing IoT r/evolutions in play

Before we go any further, let’s look at the vastness of the IoT space for a moment. The global Internet of Things market will grow to $1.7 trillion in 2020 from $655.8 billion in 2014. According to Ga...

Phone:
972-490-1113
Mailing Address:
2301 West Plano Parkway, Suite 210, Plano, TX 75075
Expertise
Smart Home: Management and Safety Consumer Electronics Connected Health and Wellness Connectivity and Mobility Small-to-medium Business (SMB) MDU
Services
Research Memberships Visibility Memberships Streaming Video Tracker Smart Home and Security Tracker Broadband Market Tracker Channel Analytics
Events
CONNECTIONS™ CONNECTIONS™ Summit/CES Smart Energy Summit Connected Health Summit Future Of Video Smart Spaces
Resources
Press Releases Analyst Blog Parks in the News
Store
View Your Cart
About Us
Overview Team Contact Us Privacy Policy

Follow:

© 2023-2026 Parks Associates. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy

Design & Developed By Agency Partner Interactive