Parks Associates: 16% of U.S. Broadband Households Own Two or More Smart Home Devices

Buyer research shows smart thermostats serve as gateway devices for smart speakers

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Sep 25, 2018, 08:36 ET

DALLAS, Sept. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Smart home research from Parks Associates finds that U.S. broadband households are buying additional smart devices as more purchase channels open to them—16% of U.S. broadband households own two or more smart home devices. According to 360 View: Smart Home Buyer Journey and User Experience, smart thermostats are the best-selling smart home category, and nearly 50% of smart thermostats bought in 2017 were purchased as an upgrade to an older model, while 16% of smart thermostats were sold through HVAC dealers.

Parks Associates: Smart Thermostat: Category of Purchase

"The buyer journey for smart home households is important to study and understand, as we see one purchase frequently leading to a second and third, with householders acquiring devices incrementally rather than all at once," said Brad Russell, Research Director, Connected Home, Parks Associates. "For smart thermostats, a household that buys this device frequently moves on to a smart speaker with personal assistant as their second or third smart home purchase."

Parks Associates' smart home research examines the changing demographics of buyers as they migrate from innovators to early adopters to early majority, including changing preferences for purchase channels, replacement cycles, installation, control interfaces, and system integration. Smart home device purchase intentions continue to grow, increasing from 26% in 2014 to 48% in 2017, with 34% of consumers reporting high intention to purchase a device.

The Smart Home Purchase Process documents the buyer journey, describing intentions for first product/system purchase, actual purchase behavior, user-reported experience at stages of ownership, and the processes for follow-up purchases.

"As the smart home industry attempts to cross the chasm—moving from adoption among early adopters to the early majority—brands in the space fervently seek to understand the value propositions that drive product adoption and how to improve perceived product value," said Patrice Samuels, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates. "Understanding the buyer journey is equally important for industry development."

Additional findings:

26% of U.S. broadband households report owning at least one smart home device.
22% of U.S. broadband households report purchasing a smart home device over the past year.
13% of U.S. broadband households own a smart thermostat.

More information about Parks Associates' research is available at www.parksassociates.com. To schedule an interview with an analyst or to request specific data, contact Julia Homier at [email protected], 972-996-0214.

About Parks Associates
Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions.

The company's expertise includes digital media and platforms, entertainment and gaming, home networks, Internet and television services, digital health, mobile applications and services, support services, consumer apps, advanced advertising, consumer electronics, energy management, and home control systems and security.

Each year, Parks Associates hosts industry webcasts, the CONNECTIONS™ Conference Series, Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers, and Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer. http://www.parksassociates.com

Julia Homier
Parks Associates
972-996-0214
[email protected]

SOURCE Parks Associates