About one-quarter of U.S. households (30 million) want to buy smart home products in the next year, according to a survey commissioned by two smart home product providers.
The survey was conducted by NextMarket Insights on behalf of Xfinity home, a security system provider, and August Home, a smart lock and smart key maker.
Here are some key findings that agents might be able to bring to bear in their business.
1. Motivators
Consumers are most motivated to adopt smart home technology by family safety. Six out of 10 survey respondents cited that as the biggest reason for their interest in smart home products.
Increasing convenience in home management, such as by adding the ability to turn on lights after dark (54 percent) and provide remote access to service providers (22 percent) also ranked among the top reasons for why respondents choose to adopt smart home technology, the survey found.
“The new era of smart security and smart home products offer consumers visibility and control over their homes that previously had not been available with traditional security systems,” said Jason Johnson, CEO of August Home Inc., in a statement.
Source: August Home and Xfinity Home
2. Moving homes kindles interest
One-quarter of consumers would get home security installed after moving into a new house, the survey’s news release said in listing “triggering events for smart home adoption.”
That suggests that agents who have a handle on the smart home security products might be able to provide some extra value to clients.
Neighborhood break-ins (46 percent) was cited as the most common trigger event for purchasing home security, followed by moving into a new house (26 percent), home remodeling (14 percent), managing a rental property (6 percent) and having a baby (5 percent).
3. Most popular smart home devices
Connected cameras are the most popular smart home products among “security-adopting” consumers, according to the survey. Next came video doorbells, connected light bulbs and smart home locks.
All that said, consumers continue to value traditional security-system providers, such as a 24/7 call center, the survey found.
4. Consumers are most likely to remotely open their doors for:
One perk of smart security devices is that they allow consumers remotely let visitors into their homes. Six out of 10 consumers are open to letting service professionals into their homes remotely with a smartphone.
Unsurprisingly, consumers tend to be more comfortable remotely unlocking their doors for people they have relationships with — such as house cleaners (41 percent) and dog walkers (35 percent) — than strangers.
But the survey’s news release said that there’s “growing comfort” with remotely opening homes to package delivery personnel and on-demand delivery services. One in five respondents said they’d be willing to let those folks in.
