Homes are smarter than you think – at least in the U.S.
A new study by the market research firm the Harris Poll found that while wireless speaker systems are still the dominant form of smart technology at home among 17 per cent of U.S. households, other digital gadgets are catching on.
About one in ten people have adopted smart thermostats such as the Google Nest or smart home security monitoring systems (11 and 9 per cent respectively).
According to the report, the level of awareness is “respectable,” yet consumers could still learn more about the benefits of smart home devices.
“Nearly half (48%) say they’ve heard of smart home security systems and don’t want one, while nearly six in ten (58%) say the same about domestic robots and 46% say the same for smart/connected refrigerators … Over half (51%) have never heard of water detectors that connect to Wi-Fi and 42% say the same for smart/connected laundry machines,” the report said.
The largest barrier to adoption may be cost, however. In fact, 88 per cent of Americans say the devices are too expensive, with the largest group surveyed (37 per cent) saying that they would consider a purchase when prices become more reasonable to them. Other considerations are “bugs” in the technology (9 per cent of surveyed) and 12 per cent would never consider it.
Check out the infographic from Statista below, and click here for the report.
