Household Ownership of Smart Home Devices Doubles in One Year

May 31, 2016

The number of Canadian broadband households with a smart home device more than doubled in the past year, jumping from 5% in the first quarter of 2015 to 11% in the first quarter of 2016, says. The statistics come from “Smart Home and IoT in Canada,” a New Parks Associates survey that also identified smart thermostats as the most popular devices, with 5% of households owning one, while networked security or monitoring cameras were a close second with more than 4% ownership.

“Individual device penetration in Canada largely mirrors the U.S. market, where security-related devices and thermostats have greater adoption compared with other products like appliances, blinds, and fans,” says Tom Kerber, Director, Research, Home Controls & Energy, Parks Associates. “The transition to interactive services and home controls is now mainstream and attracting first-time subscribers to the security market.”

Consumers in the 24-35 age group and households with incomes of $100,000 and above are driving much of the smart home device penetration, but owning a security system is most impactful.

“Security system ownership is by far the largest driver of smart home device adoption,” Kerber says. “Even youth and high income — which do play a role — do not have nearly the same impact.”

Smart Home and IoT in Canada and Connected Entertainment in Canada are part of a research project that reports and analyzes demand for connected home and IoT solutions among Canadian broadband households and identifies market factors driving adoption and usage.

The project shows that desire to remotely access their home system was a “very influential” factor among 31% of Canadian broadband households that purchased a security system in the past 12 months. Nearly 60% of recent security system buyers noted remote access as having at least some influence on their purchase, compared to just 26% who felt it was not factor in their purchase decision.

Parks Associates addressed the growth of the connected device market in the U.S., Canada, and worldwide at the upcoming 20th annual Connections: The Premier Connected Home Conference. The event, which took place May 24-26 in San Francisco, included sessions featuring leading executives sharing insights on the disruptions and growth of the smart home and connected device market. Among the sessions:

“Security Innovations: Expanding the Smart Home Experience” — Canary, Cox Communications, leakSMART, Logitech, NXP Semiconductors, and Verizon

“Energy, IoT, and Smart Home Partnerships” — AT&T Digital Life, EnergyHub, Schneider Electric, NRG/Reliant, and SunPower Corporation

“IoT Channel Strategies: A New Consumer Experience” — CEDIA, Comcast, Nexia, Ingersoll Rand, and ROC-Connect

Find out more: www.parksassociates.com.