There are smart devices and then there are consumers who
know about smart devices
The problem is, there are many more smart devices than there are people familiar with them.
Most people are familiar with smartphones and smart TVs, since
pretty much any phone or TV bought today is, by definition, a smart device.
However, after those two items, most consumers are not familiar with connected devices, such as smart door locks and
smart thermostats, based on a new study.
Fewer than half (40%) of people are familiar with smart programmable thermostats and even fewer (28%) are familiar with smart door locks, based on a
survey of 10,000 U.S. adult heads of households conducted by Parks Associates.
Even smart speakers are not high on the list. Here’s the breakdown of how familiar consumers are with smart
devices:
- 80% -- Smartphone
- 59% -- Smart TV
- 40% -- Smart programmable thermostat
- 39% -- Smartwatch
- 34% -- Smart speaker with personal assistant
(Amazon Echo, etc.)
- 30% -- Networked security camera
- 29% -- Smart doorbells with video
- 28% -- Smart door lock
Despite this, smart home adoption rates have
been growing, with 26% of broadband households having at least one device that can be turned on or off using a smartphone.
More telling is that only 10% of consumers in broadband households
use personal assistants or apps to control smart devices in their home, according to Parks Associates.
Those lights and thermostats still are run by physically going to the device or a switch
to manually operate it.
Before masses of consumers start controlling smart devices remotely, they have to become familiar with them.
IoT market growth is not hampered by the technology
as much as it is by the lack of knowledge about it.