Carsten Maple, Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor at the University of Warwick and Professor of Cyber Systems Engineering at WMG, University of Warwick

Rob Procter, Professor of Social Informatics, Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick

Dr Sara Cannizzaro, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Warwick

The smart home technology market

According to the Statista Smart Home Report (2021), the worldwide smart home technology market is expected to generate revenues of US$182.3 billion by 2025, an increase from US$78.9 billion in 2020. Consumer knowledge, engagement and investment in the smart home sector has been consistently rising over the last few years. However, the sector has seen rapid spikes in consumption particularly over the past year or so, as argued by IDC 2020, or the 2020 Survey: Pandemic Increased Buyers’ Interest in Smart Homes, triggered by the global pandemic, government lockdowns, and synergic industry marketing.

When it first came out, the Google Home assistant was priced at £120, but during the spring 2020 lockdown they were being given for free by broadband suppliers as part of incentives for existing customers. The idea behind all this is that if we connect several parts of the house to the internet, rather than just a couple of laptops and a few mobile phones, we will need faster and better broadband and we are more likely to be needing more comprehensive and pricey packages.

At a time when prospective consumers have been discovering different uses for houses, whether working, schooling or exercising, the principle of restricted activities outside of the home seems to have highlighted the value added by devices to make life easier and more connected. This is very much the message that providers of products and services are capitalising on.

Evolution in consumption patterns and demands

Back in 2018, we conducted a detailed piece of research entitled ‘Trust in the Smart Home’, under the auspices of the then PETRAS Cyber Security of the Internet of Things, today the PETRAS National Centre of Excellence for loT Systems Cybersecurity and funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (Grant EP/N510129/1). The piece investigated consumer behaviours and the level of smart home device adoption across the UK. Having looked at 2101 people, datasets showed that the most-owned device back in 2018 was the wireless TV, though not many would know this counted as Internet of Things (IoT) – and not many people knew what IoT was. 40% of the population owning IoT devices had a smart TV. This was followed by the smart electric or gas meter (29%) and only in third place, the personal home assistant (18%).

People thought that smart home devices would have been most useful to save on energy bills (24%), upgrade home entertainment and leisure (17%) and keep the home secure (16%). Whilst these requirements are still pivotal factors in the sector, some of the functions perceived as being least useful, like preparing food (3%), ordering groceries (7%) or cleaning (12%) have become much more prominent during lockdown, as cited by Elsworthy and also D’Antino. This shows how flexible technology can be when providing a product or service that meets consumers’ constantly evolving requirements and expectations.

It appears then, that we have indeed come a long way in only two years in terms of trends throughout the smart home devices sector. Today, widespread shifts in behaviours, as detailed by Biroli et al and Livingstone, may be leading us to a reliance on technology to support and streamline the functions that have acquired further emphasis throughout the pandemics. For example, talking to family in teleconference whilst trying to get on with cleaning, working and generally taking care of the non-virtual environment.

Looking at some of Google’s top results, it is no surprise that we can find products that support these consumption patterns, such as the Portal Mini, a device with a smart camera that follows you around as you move. However, we can also see the market serving new and emerging consumer trends. For example, the smart garden, “an innovative indoor garden that cares for itself and grows fresh, flavourful herbs, fruits and vegetables for you”. No doubt the idea of a smart garden emerges out of the re-discovery of gardening that people have made during the first spring lockdown, their experience of panic buying herbs still fresh in their mind.

Accessibility and challenges to adoption

However, accessibility is still a huge issue around technology in general, but particularly smart home devices. On average, people aged 18-24 own 2.59 devices versus people aged 65+ who on average own 1.39 devices. People with tertiary/higher degree education own on average 2.01 devices versus people with primary/secondary education who own 1.45 devices on average.

For product and service providers, these gaps are a huge missed opportunity to grow their business. And, for the portions of the population that fit into this less engaged demographic, a willingness to try the technology could lead to enhanced lifestyles.

The main obstacle for adoption in this category is scepticism, particularly in the form of security and privacy concerns when using unfamiliar technology. For example, in our research we found that the most prominent factor affecting consumer trust was the anxiety about the likelihood of security-related incidents resulting in physical risk. In other words, this means that the higher this anxiety, the higher the odds that people will either not want to adopt the technology or will not want to continue using it in the future. These concerns are not something that one business can solve, it will take a collective effort from businesses of all sizes and policymakers.

So what’s next? Without effective intervention some consumer segments – the sceptics, would have no opportunity to influence the ongoing development of the technology. This could increase the risk that society may become more polarised between the ‘digitally included’ and the ‘digitally left behind’.

As Sonia Livingstone says “life under lockdown has the potential to either hasten a digital future in which our lives are tracked and monetised in unprecedented ways, or make the public more aware of such risks and thus resistant to all things digital.”. Hence, it may become harder and harder to imagine a middle ground when it comes to accepting the technology. The intense exposure to the smart home favoured by a growing and aggressively competitive market as well as changes in family and work patterns during the Covid-19 pandemics are likely to create the Marmite effect – we may either love or hate it.

Find out more about ‘Trust in the Smart Home’ by visiting our research paper here. You can also find out more on the University of Warwick website here.