Commentary
54% Would Share Smart Home Habits For Money, 47% For Coupons, Discounts
- by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, March 31, 2016
Information from smart devices in
the home could be valuable and it looks like many consumers would be willing to trade some of that information for a fee.
And it’s not just money that marketers may need to fork over for valuable consumer insights, since coupons and discounts could do the trick as well.
The majority (54%) of consumers who live in a smart home would give a company access to their connected home habits if they were paid, based on a new large and detailed study.
The study, ‘The Internet of Things and the Smart Home,’ comprised a survey of 9,000 people, (including 2,500 in the U.S.) in nine countries, conducted by market research company Vanson Bourne for Intel Security.
In the U.S., almost half (45%) would give info on their connected home habits if they got money for it.
In the overall nine countries, almost half (47%) of those who lived in a smart home would give a company access to their connected home habits for coupons and discounts. In the U.S., 36% of consumers would share for coupons and discounts.
Millennials are a bit more willing to make a trade, with 64% willing to trade info for money and 56% open to trading for coupons and discounts.
Consumers also see plenty of potential in smart homes in the future, especially around the idea of saving money, mostly in fuel bills (hello, smart thermostat!). Here are the household expenses consumers in the U.S. expect would be reduced:
- 58% -- Heating/cooling bills
- 55% -- Gas/electric bills
- 34% -- Water bills
- 27% -- Carbon monoxide/smoke damage
- 24% -- Internet/cable bills
- 23% -- Water leak/flood damage
- 14% -- Appliance repairs
In terms of potential frustrations in future smart homes, consumers have a wide-ranging set of concerns. In the U.S., the top fear is concern over hacking for 70% of consumers, followed by maintenance fees (67%). Overall, here are the potential frustrations they see ahead:
- 64% - Connection failure
- 64% -- Concern over hacking
- 62% -- Maintenance fees
- 57% -- Product glitches
- 42% -- Password issues
- 39% -- System updates
- 38% -- Spotty service
- 38% -- system reboots
- 35% -- Reprogramming
Whether marketers will come around to crafting deals in trade for consumer insights is yet to be seen.
But when they do, a lot of consumers appear ready to make the trade.
Chuck Martin is Editor of the AI & IoT Daily at MediaPost and writes the daily Connected Thinking column. He is a NY Times Business bestselling author and his latest book is “Digital Transformation 3.0” (The New Business-to-Consumer Connections of The Internet of Things.) He is CEO of Net Future Institute and a frequent keynote speaker internationally. Follow him on Twitter @chuckmartin and contact him at Chuck@MediaPost.com.
Interesting. But I'm struck by the smart thermostat idea... Having worked that world some, there isn't nearly as much to be saved as is popularly put forth.
First, most homes already have some type of time controlled thermostat that has captured the bulk of their potential fuel savings. Secondly, the additional savings possible through smart home are quite low.
In our work with consumers, we've found that the savings don't add up and that once they investigate more seriously, they realize this. So that makes the smart thermostat a matter of convenience (and it is a serious convenience) but not really one where the idea of fuel savings withstands consumer investigation.
Good ponit, Doug, but as you likely know, the perception savings is there.
Agree, the perception is there. Yet what I meant is that in our experience, the perception of savings attracts initially but evaporates once the consumer digs into it better. So either they generally buy to end up dissatisfied or turn away after looking into it... Maybe they aren't "angry" dissatisfied but more "meh" dissatisfied. Neither is great for smart tech.
Thanks for the thought...