See some of the insights from our global smart home study that we shared in a presentation at CES 2016. For more information on our study visit: http://www.gfk.com/insights/report/making-the-smart-home-a-reality/
Challenging and potentially dismal outlook - How can we use the resources we have left efficiently and become a smarter generation that protects the futures of our children?
Our study looked at 7 markets and we were able to dig into overall consumer sentiment, as well as looking at LECs (+ explanation).
In this presentation, we want to give you an insight into the smart home market and how it will evolve in the next year and beyond
Macro-trends will drive the impetus for adopting smarter tech in the home
Key manifestation of this – most personal and tangible way this will manifest (and is manifesting) is in the smart home.
Push of macro-factors versus pull – both factors having a play to smart home adoption – macro + consumer desire/interest
This context led us to dig deeper into this exciting market to better understand the real value for consumers today and how this trend will evolve
To all of us here, we’re probably all pretty aligned in what we believe the smart home to be – see points above.
But what about consumers? Do they understand the term?
LECs made up 17% of our sample
3 questions combined to define LECs – early adoption behavior, influential status (driving other people to adopt), passion for/interest in the category
The LEC framework helps identify the minority of consumers most likely to predict the future direction of the majority
We asked consumers if they’re aware of the term ‘smart home’ (variation seen by market). So it looks like consumers are getting a sense of this market; they’ve heard a bit about it, aware of it. Vast majority are aware of this market but the knowledge of the market is relatively shallow = 10%
Media awareness + brand launches of smart products
So do they expect it to impact their lives? Can they relate to it and do they see it influencing them?
Consumers are expecting the smart home to have an impact on their lives.
Based on LECs as predicting the future, they even more so expect smart home to be the lead tech in the next few years.
Here we wanted to test the relative importance of this trend – is it really that big? These insights showcase that it really is. We tested 11 trends – here are the top 5.
So if consumers are generally aware of the term smart home, have a vague understanding of it and also believe that it will impact their lives, the smart home market must be a money making machine….
…..maybe not quite yet…what we can say though is that:
Anticipation is that it’ll be a big opportunity
Consumers are key
More brands entering the market
But from a consumer perspective, to drive adoption, there’s still lots of challenges to address
Smart home increasingly established as a term that has currency – we know this because we placed it in the context of a number of broad trends
People recognise it as a key tech trend
Why – so many companies are entering the place now in anticipation of growth here
Plus media interest – launches are getting attention
Launches are from key tech brands and beyond from other industries – retailers, etc.
This has achieved a blot of cut through – people expect a lot from the smart home
A trend that will impact their lives in the near future
LECs are a key indicator of this
We asked consumers if they’re aware of the term ‘smart home’ (variation seen by market). So it looks like consumers are getting a sense of this market; they’ve heard a bit about it, aware of it. Vast majority are aware of this market but the knowledge of the market is relatively shallow = 10%
Media awareness + brand launches of smart products
So do they expect it to impact their lives? Can they relate to it and do they see it influencing them?
Partnerships across these types of companies that will really unlock the value for consumers
Reality is consumers don’t know much about smart home, don’t know who’s going to deliver it. Point is to show that there’s general confusion about who will deliver Smart Home.
The way this is manifesting is piecemeal
But people also don’t necessarily realize that their homes are smart - people’s homes will get smarter by stealth as tech advances (start to allude to this line of thought)
Nearly 1/3 consumers already have at least one smart home product or device
Looking at US, above average – 35% consumers own at least 1 smart device
LECs spelling out the future – 52%
Smartness is currently discrete – when we get truly smart homes = when multiple devices link together
So we’re really at a very early stage – not necessarily intentional purchases right now
Piecemeal adoption – consumers are interested in diff things helping them solve one problem – they’re not thinking about the potential that all these discrete devices/solutions could offer something bigger and better in the end = a smart home
Like the development of online/offline retail – battle ground that has come together to offer consumers what they really want and give them the true benefit they need
So from a consumer perspective, where do the opportunities lie? The interest sits across these areas – in particularly security and control, smart energy and smart entertainment - consumer can relate to these areas. Clear examples that they can relate to
For all consumers, security and control and energy and lighting resonate the most – driven by a clear understanding on what these aspects cover and the proliferation of devices already available in these areas.
While LECs see much stronger appeal for all categories due to greater relevance and knowledge of the broader smart home concept. Entertainment and connectivity has a greater appeal in relation to the other categories – reflective of their greater device usage.
Cultural differences are key:
In Brazil, they consider security and control the most appealing and relevant smart home sector – allude to higher rates of crime?!
In Germany, in comparison to the other smart home areas, energy and lighting was particularly high (51%) – allude to environmentally aware nation that’s leading the EU’s green agenda
Significance of all this >>> opportunity for many players to make their mark in this market. Understanding specific markets and consumer drivers is key to making a success of this.
Evolution can happen very smoothly. But there are barriers that need to be considered/addressed. Classic tech barriers were seen to come out strongly. Knowledge linked to how does it work? Is it seamless? How can I make my home smart? Do al the devices work together?
And while privacy is often something consumers are aware of, here it came out we found it came out at the same level as knowledge of products being a barrier. Exponential amount of data will produced from the smart home. In particular, when looking at the individual markets, privacy came out strongly in Germany, China and South Korea – not so much of an issue currently in UK, US. Again, need to look at individual markets, e.g.
Germany – tight data protection controls
China & S Korea – sensitivities around government authorities monitoring consumer data, etc. – particularly around entertainment
Need to reassure consumers where their data goes
Despite the barriers, people have expectations and will expect this to be possible in spite of the barriers
Need for simplicity, trust, seamlessness, intuitive UX
A smart user experience
The technology works but it’s all in the background – it’s just going to work
Vendors really need to think about this – if they are entering the market, it has to be a seamless experience or they risk a failing product/service – disappointing consumers
There are at least 4 bodies trying to work together to find standards of protocols – this will be critical. Nothing that will slow the uptake of smart home more than the tech not working well for consumers = push and pull notion – if you get it wrong, you’ll get no pull from consumers. You’ll only get push from the industry side which will take a lot longer
We believe there are brands starting to be consumer-led:
Oomi smart home - the first smart home that is made for everyone. It requires no technical knowledge. Now anyone can create a smart home that manages comfort, increases security, controls entertainment and improves ambiance. Oomi enables anyone to discover their ideal home experience.
Prizm – a brain for your speakers : it is the first AI-powered music player. Thanks to sensors and algorithms, Prizm identifies music tastes of people in the room, understands the context (party, chilling...) and intuitively adapts the music, so everyone loves the music
Samsung SmartThings Hub - provides users with a powerful, easy to use solution to build a smart home and help solve specific everyday problems.
Dacor’s Discovery - convection ovens are Wi-Fi connected and have a graphic user interface to get your brownies baking like no other. With a Samsung one gigahertz processor and 512 megabytes of RAM, this setup isn’t just tech for tech’s sake. It’s designed to power the Discovery IQ cooking app, which guides users through all sorts of dishes and family recipes.
Schlage sense - Schlage’s most advanced lock system offering to date. Designed to work with Apple® HomeKit™ technology, the Schlage Sense™ system provides consumers with key-free convenience and also lets consumers control their Schlage Sense™ lock with their voice using Siri®.