“There is no better place than home.”– quite a popular phrase heard by all of us at some point in time or the other. However, the phrase can be slightly tweaked to maintain the sync with the latest tech trends. Yes, we are talking about- Smart Homes: “There is no better place than Smart Homes.” The smart home industry has already walked quite decently on the growth ramp so far, but there are still a bunch of opportunities for the market players to penetrate the untapped potential areas. The consumer awareness can be regarded as a major pain point which needs to be addressed by the smart home industry players. The value propositions which the ‘connected’ or ‘smart’ devices offer is yet to be accurately and completely perceived by the consumers.
Smart home industry comprises of the houses where the household equipment or devices such as lights, ventilators, refrigerators, locks, etc. are automated and can be controlled via smartphones, laptops, or tablets. Internet of things or IOT revolution has resulted in a plethora of connected devices globally. These devices have already penetrated the sectors such as automotive, retail, security, etc. and smart home industry is poised to be the next big thing to be disrupted by IOT. It is estimated that the US is the top region embracing the smart home industry with the highest number of connected devices in the regional houses.
Smart Home industry, despite being far from the envisioned destination, is witnessing a rapid growth on a global scale. Tech giants are coming up with promising products and solutions to grab the business opportunities and share. The promise by one of the leading consumer electronics giant Samsung, to make 90% of its product to be connected to the internet by 2017 well reveals the degree of participation by the market players in the smart home industry. Other tech giants such as Apple and Amazon have also taken part in the smart home market wave through their HomeKit Framework and Alexa speakers or Amazon Echo respectively. Moreover, Panasonic’s announcement of Ora smart home platform at CES 2016, also made the headlines throwing a light on smart living experience. The technology players look keen to partake in the surging smart home industry and surely heating up the market with highly competitive outlook.
The smart home market is disrupting every corner of the houses embarking its significant presence across four major areas: security, energy, kitchen appliances, and entertainment. Below is a deeper insight of how the smart home industry will disrupt these household activities or circumferences.
Security: Security is one of the top drivers contributing towards the growth of the smart home industry. Studies reveal that the most prominent and justified reason for preferring the smart home technology over conventional technologies is the personal and family security of the consumers. Home monitoring or security has become a major growth attributor to the smart home market. Major smart home security systems include smart locking systems, security cameras, motion sensors, security alarms, etc. Telecom sector will emerge as the major revenue generating segment when it comes to security in the smart home industry.
Energy: Connected/Smart Homes carry a high energy saving potential than conventional homes which is providing a major push to the smart home market. Studies reveal that energy is the second most desired reason behind migrating to smart homes. Norms to save energy is further giving rise to the adoption of smart energy devices in the homes. Despite the high purchasing cost of the smart energy products, it will provide the consumers with the long-term cost-cutting benefits on energy consumption. Smart lights, smart fans, smart ACs, smart switches, smart plugs, etc. are some of the major energy saving devices in the smart home industry. According to Global Market Insights, Inc. “Smart Lighting market is estimated to surpass a global revenue of USD 8.5 billion by 2023.”
Kitchen Appliances and Entertainment: Entertainment is becoming a priority area for the consumers, building a profitable roadmap for the global smart home industry. The appliances and entertainment segment will play a vital role in the revenue cycle for the smart home market and the famous brands are likely to make the most out of it. The reliability of the consumers on these brands plus the brand loyalty will positively influence their role in the industry. For instance, Samsung will likely be amongst the top most consumer electronic player participating in the smart home industry. Samsung’s Family Hub refrigerator, which became the trending topic at CES is reflecting the giant’s footprints in the market. Google, which is a technology trendsetter is also poised to make a market into the smart home industry, with few developments already on the cards.
The expanding wearable devices market is setting new trends in the smart home industry. Estimates reveal that most of the consumers adopting the smart home technology are also possessors of wearable devices. For instance, smart fitness wear market, owing to the rising urge to remain fit and healthy, is estimated to register a massive cumulative annual growth rate of 30% over the coming six years.
The smart home industry encompasses nearly every sphere of the household, and is undoubtedly the next big thing abound by the revolutionary IOT trend. Though the seamlessly connected/smart home is still an envisioned scenario, the growing efforts by the industry players and the urge of a connected, smart, and smooth living from the consumers will definitely bring high growth waves in the smart home market over the coming years.