Smart Home Tracker finds perception of high prices as a leading adoption barrier to adoption of smart home devices

Parks Associates smart home research finds high perceived prices remain a top barrier to smart home adoption, with providers and manufacturers working to bring lower-priced products to market and discontinue specific premium products. The firm’s Smart Home Tracker finds 20.5 million, or 44% of consumers who do not own or intend to purchase a smart home device, report expensive prices as their reason to forgo adoption, followed by perceived lack of benefits and data and privacy concerns. To overcome the cost barrier, Apple is offering a smaller form factor for its HomePod, and Google is offering a new Nest thermostat with fewer features and a smaller price tag.

“Perception of high prices is a key barrier to smart home device adoption, but it is also tied to the perception among non-owners that smart home devices do not offer any benefits to the lifestyle,” Patrice Samuels, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates. “Device manufacturers in the smart home market are evaluating multiple strategies to address the leading adoption barriers. Companies are betting that getting one device in the home, even as a loss leader, will convince consumers of the value of smart home devices and inspire future purchases. Our research indicates this is a sound strategy.”

Parks Associates notes that households that own at least one smart home device have an average of seven devices. Companies such as Eufy are offering lower-priced models that retain most of the features of their higher-priced models, knowing there is a good chance that their customers will buy more products following this initial purchase.

The Smart Home Tracker, a quarterly service, also finds that as new social distancing guidelines continue to impact schools and businesses, a number of tech giants—including Facebook and Google—are incorporating video conferencing solutions into their products and systems. The percentage of US broadband households that report using video services is 54% higher than prior to the pandemic.

“One of the leading and overarching value propositions of smart home products is to improve convenience for users,” Samuels said. “Services like Zoom have become invaluable. Helping users to make video calls more conveniently increases the value of smart home devices in these times, and we expect to see additional integration around solutions like these.”

For information about the Smart Home Tracker, contact sales@parksassociates.com. To schedule an interview with an analyst or to request specific research data, please contact Rosey Ulpino, rosey.ulpino@parksassociates.com, 972-490-1113.

About Parks Associates

Parks Associates, a woman-founded and certified business, is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates provides business intelligence and research services through its proprietary methodologies developed over decades, including quarterly surveys of 10,000 internet households.

The company's expertise crosses many industries: home security and smart home, streaming video, broadband and pay-TV services, digital media and platforms, gaming, Wi-Fi and home networks, connected health, support, consumer electronics, home control systems, energy management, and tech solutions for the multi-dwelling (MDU), small-to-medium business (SMB), and commercial building markets.

Each year, Parks Associates brings thousands of leaders together for its webinars and annual events. The firm hosts the annual executive research and strategy conferences CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. https://www.parksassociates.com

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