Parks Associates: 29% of US Broadband Households Own Both a Smart Speaker and a Smart Home Device

By AIT News Desk On May 28, 2020

Consumer study finds smart speaker ownership is a key driver to smart home adoption

New Parks Associates research from Smart Home Buyer Journey and User Experience finds that smart speakers are serving as a gateway to smart home adoption, as 16% of broadband households purchased a smart speaker prior to purchasing a smart home device. Of the 29% of US broadband households that own both a speaker and a smart home device, nearly three-fourths said ownership of the speaker motivated them to purchase a smart home device.

“Smart speakers can present strong use cases for smart home devices to the consumer,” said Brad Russell, Research Director, Connected Home, Parks Associates. “By bundling smart speakers with smart plugs, smart light bulbs, or smart thermostats, companies can deliver a guided introduction to the smart home experience. This combo also helps facilitate support for self-installation, which is becoming significantly more important following the COVID-19 outbreak.”

Parks Associates notes that between 69% and 78% of all smart security and safety devices bought in 2019 were self-installed, representing a significant increase from 2018. For example, 77% of networked camera owners self-installed this product in 2019, compared to 68% in 2018.

“The self-installation trend enables direct-to-consumer online sales for retailers and service providers alike without the cost or challenges of a COVID-19 service call,” Russell said. “Prior to the outbreak, the main trigger for a smart home purchase was the consumer experience of seeing the product in a store or online. With so much shopping now shifting online, having these self-install options is even more important to trigger sales, and with a smart speaker, companies can deliver support through do-it-with-me or do-it-together services that utilize real-time chat.”

Smart Home Buyer Journey and User Experience provides critical intelligence for smart home business strategies with the latest data on smart home trends influencing consumer purchase behaviors and preferences. Other data highlights:

Over a quarter of broadband households now own multiple smart speakers
68% of smart thermostat purchasers self-installed the device
45% of recent smart home device buyers did some research prior to making a purchase; 51% did no research
52% of broadband households intend to purchase some kind of smart home device in the next 12 months