• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, February 8, 2018

Consumers can purchase smart home devices for any number of reasons.

Someone may want the convenience of controlling their thermostat remotely, someone else may want to be able to ask questions through smart speakers like Amazon Echo or Google Home and others may want to use smart security cameras to see who comes and goes.

However, there may be another factor that influences the purchase decision, and that’s income. 

It turns out that, across the board, more people with higher incomes than others either own or plan to purchase smart home devices.

For example, the majority (69%) of those with high incomes own or plan to buy smart home entertainment products, compared to 62% in the middle-income levels and 48% in the bottom, based on a survey of 15,000 U.S. internet users conducted by Global Web Index.

Income levels were segmented into the top 25%, middle 50% and bottom 25%. No matter the smart home product, more consumers in the top income tier own or plan to purchase smart home devices than either of the other two levels.

Also, in every category, more of those in the middle tier own or plan to buy a smart home device over those in the lower income tier. Here’s the breakdown of those in the top income level who own or plan to purchase a smart home device within the next six months:

• 69% -- Smart home entertainment products
• 45% -- Voice-controlled smart assistants/speakers
• 45% -- Smart home utility products
• 44% -- Smart home security products
• 38% -- Smart health devices

The number of those in the middle 50% tier of income level differed from those in the higher brackets based on the product. Here’s the breakdown of those in the middle-income level who own or plan to purchase a smart home device within the next six months:

• 62% -- Smart home entertainment products
• 38% -- Voice-controlled smart assistants/speakers
• 35% -- Smart home utility products
• 35% -- Smart home security products
• 34% -- Smart health devices

The survey did not ask about the purchase influence of product pricing, though other studies have found that the price of smart home products is one of the key considerations in a purchase.

No matter the price, it does appear that income level also is a factor.