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New European Study Reveals Smart Home Awareness Gap

A study based on 6,000 participants commissioned by Ecovacs, Philips Hue, Ring, tado°, and Yale shows that 66% of people want help at home, but most Europeans do not yet have a smart home solution to support their everyday routine. [1]

Key Study Findings:

1. 66% of study participants are bothered by household tasks

2. 63% of respondents are positive towards living in a connected home that supports them in their daily life, but 71% do not yet have a connected product at home

3. Europeans already living in a smart home are more than twice as likely to purchase a smart home device as those without any

New European Study Reveals Smart Home Awareness Gap

IFA Berlin, 05.09.2019 – Today, the Smart Home League, a collaboration of smart home category leaders, reveals the results of a new European study looking into consumer needs and intentions in the smart home. The research shows that Europeans are positive about a smart home that can support them in their daily life. While current smart home adoption stands at only 11%, the study also found strong signs that this is set to accelerate. [2]

European study shows encouraging demand

According to research results, the majority of Europeans (66%) find themselves bothered by time-consuming household tasks. This includes simple household undertakings such as turning down the heating, switching off lights, and searching for keys, to more time-consuming chores like vacuum cleaning and picking up parcels from the post office – all of which can be supported by simple, effective smart home solutions. Perhaps unsurprisingly, younger survey participants prove to be the most affected by these menial tasks, with 78% of 20-40 year olds bothered by simple, routine household chores. 

While there is an increasing availability of effective solutions to support these day-to-day tasks, 71% of those surveyed do not yet have a connected product at home. However, research shows 37% plan to buy a smart home product within the next 12 months; while those who already have a smart home product are much more likely (68%) to purchase another. This suggests that consumers who have experienced a smart home product are more aware of the value and benefits.

Moving into the mainstream

Europeans feel good about a smart home, with 63% of study participants positive toward living in a connected home that supports them in their daily life. In Italy and Spain, this figure rises to over 80%. While research shows that positive sentiment and demand for household support is there, many Europeans are still not aware of the value that smart home devices can deliver.  

The smart home is currently moving from early to mass adoption. To make that move, industry leaders must ensure that devices are accessible, affordable, and easy to use. Smart speakers, like Amazon Echo and Google Home have accelerated smart home adoption, thanks in large part to their simple setup, attractive price points, and easy daily routine integrations. In fact, 28% of Europeans surveyed prefer to interact with their smart home devices via voice; 40% rather use an app to control their smart home products, while 32% of people use voice control in combination with an app. 

Setting up a supportive home

The smart home can support people in a number of ways; making their homes safer, more comfortable, more energy efficient and increasingly cost effective. Intelligent robot vacuums clean the floor while you are not at home. People with limited mobility or health issues can use voice control so that they do not have to walk into every room to switch off the lights or answer the door when it rings. Video doorbells, smart locks, and security cameras connected to your smartphone offer improved safety and increased peace of mind. And in times of climate change, saving energy has become a critical issue that the smart home can support. Connected thermostats and lights help residents to reduce energy consumption and save money.

How can smart home companies work better together to support customers and close the awareness gap?

Have smart home companies done enough to educate people on the benefits of their solutions? These questions were among those discussed in a panel discussion with companies leading the smart home industry yesterday in Berlin. 

Smart Home League quotes

Jonathan Tang, Vice President, Head of Global Business at Ecovacs

“Home service robotics will become the gateway to the IoT in the future.  The mobility of home service robotics is particularly good so that this robotics can understand different scenarios and even to aid other IoT products provide better scenario-based services.”

Philips Hue - George Yianni, Head of Technology Philips Hue  

“The smart home needs to be open and simple to fit consumers needs. That’s why we always focused on our open system and on working with as many partners as possible. With our new Philips Hue Bluetooth products we make the entrance into smart home even easier, to inspire more people to take advantage of the benefits.”

Dave Ward, European Product Director at Ring

“People want a smart home that provides them with a positive experience, with products and services that help make their everyday life more convenient, more efficient and more safe. They want to see a true benefit, something that solves an issue, rather than simply adding technology to their home.”

Toon Bouten, CEO at tado°

“The Smart Home League stands for a supportive home. We want to demonstrate how technology can help people make their lives easier with solutions that seamlessly integrate into every lifestyle, while encouraging a more sustainable world.”

Kate Clark, Managing Director of Yale EMEA

"We recognise the needs of our consumers to have innovative smart home security products that allow them to connect and control their homes from anywhere, anytime. To this end we work closely with our trusted partners Philips Hue, Amazon and Google Assistant to ensure a seamless integration and ultimately an enhanced security experience."


About The Smart Home League

The Smart Home League is an affiliation of smart home leaders in the fields of climate management (tado°), household appliances (Ecovacs), lighting (Philips Hue), security & safety (Ring, Yale) and voice-enabled assistants (Amazon Alexa, the Google Assistant) coming together to demonstrate how technology can support people at home. 

Images

Please find the press release hi-res image here and the hi-res infographic here

Press contact

For more information on or specific country data on the study please contact:

Paul Hughes

Sapporobogen 6-8,

80637 Munich,

Germany

[1] Based on a study conducted by Dynata with 6,000 Europeans (1,000 each from: UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands) in August 2019

[2] Smart TVs not included: smart home product adoption stands at 11%, smart speaker adoption at 18%