Commentary
Consumers See $20+ As Fair Monthly Fee For Fully Smart Home
- by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, March 14, 2017
Consumers have a price in mind for what they consider to be a good value for a smart home.
For most consumers, the minimum price seems to be about $20 a month.
Half (50%) of U.S. broadband households consider $20 or more a month for a comprehensive smart home service to be a good value, according to new research by Parks Associates. On the higher end, 7% say the service would be worth more than $50 monthly.
More than 26 million U.S. households own at least one smart home device, a 35% increase from the beginning of last year, according to Parks.
Another survey by PwC earlier this year found that one in four (26%) consumers own a smart home product with price being the most stated cause of hesitating to get a smart home device.
Yet another study, this one conducted globally by Gartner, found that 10% of households have a connected home solution, though 6% higher in the U.S.
There are smart home devices, which can be bought and set up by consumers, and then there are smart home systems, often installed and maintained by professional organizations.
The Parks study at least gives an idea of the price barriers for a complete smart home system.
Here’s what consumers see as an appropriate monthly fee as a good value:
- 23% -- $11 to $20
- 20% -- $1 to $10
- 18% -- $21 to $30
- 13% -- $41 to $50
- 12% -- $31 to 40
- 9% -- $0
- 7% -- More than $50
Of course, the perception of what a comprehensive smart home service is can be somewhat subjective. At least now there is a ballpark of where – and how much -- recurring revenue may be found.
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.
Give you 20 bucks a month to STAY OUT OF MY HOUSE.
How much will it cost to guarantee your data isn't sold and you won't be hacked ? How much will it cost for just one hickcup ? Put that $20+ into your retirement account which you will need a lot more than being too damn lazy to turn on a light.
You likely would have some company wiht that, Mark.
And with the "hack" you will never know till maybe months or years later.
Ahhh, just yesterday a HALF BILLION g-mail accounts compromised................
Who would-a thunk, that the USPS would be the safest way to commuinate these days?
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Huh,
I wonder what people will expect for their "complete" smart home system.
Maintenance and tech support?
I suppose security will also be important but I wouldn't want to be the company promising to protect customers against cyberthreats.
Still a long way to go here, Steve