Connected Home: Adoption Rate of Connected Home Devices in the UK at Around 5-7% of Households with Majority of Consumers Buying Online

LONDON, November 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

New research from CP Consulting, a business intelligence and consulting firm specializing in financial services, reveals preferences of consumers who have already purchased Connected Home devices in the UK [1].

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Adoption Rate of Connected Home Devices at Around 5-7% of UK Households 

The research 'Consumers' Attitudes Towards the Connected Home in the UK' has identified a group of early adopters - 9% of total respondents - who have already purchased Connected Home devices in the past months.

"Based on the data we collected and on the composition of the sample, we estimate that the overall adoption rate of Connected Home in the UK is between 5% and 7% of households as of October 2015. This signals that Connected Home devices are progressively being used by a broader segment of the population," comments Carlo Palmieri, MD at CP Consulting.

Majority of Consumers Buy Online, Predominantly from UK Retailers' Websites  

Three quarters of early adopters purchased Connected Home devices online through retailers' websites. Around 20% bought in store and 5% from installers or utility companies (see InfoGraphic).

Moreover, male and younger consumers prefer to buy online more than female and older consumers with over 80% of respondents aged 25 to 34 having bought online compared to around 55% of consumers aged 35 to 44.

"Our findings on distribution channels indicate that most consumers in the UK have so far bought Connected Home products online. This was unsurprising to us, given the sample demographics and the limited product offering made available at point of sale," continues Mr Palmieri.

"It is worth noting that products were overwhelmingly bought from websites of UK trusted retailers with only 6% of consumers having purchased directly from manufacturers' websites." 

Consumers Prefer Self-Installed Solutions, But Some Still Need Support with Installation 

Over 70% of respondents opted to self-install their Connected Home devices, while the rest were helped by a professional installer.

The research findings show that male and younger respondents clearly preferred self-installed solutions, while female and older consumers relied more on installers when selecting a Connected Home device.

"Given the novelty of such products in the UK, some consumers might still want assistance and advice by a trusted installer as they are less willing to do DIY installations. Manufacturers will need to consider leveraging strategic partnerships with installers, utility providers and/or insurance companies if they want to increase their penetration rate within this specific consumer segment," continues Mr Palmieri.

Connected Home Camera the Most Bought Device, Smoke Detector the Least 

Over 60% of early adopters have purchased the Connected Home Camera, 37% Lighting, 35% the Hub, 32% the Thermostat and around 30% the Connected Door Lock. Only 7% bought the Smoke Detector.

"These results highlight key differences on product preferences between early adopters and consumers who are still planning to buy," concludes Mr Palmieri. "Consumers who have not purchased Connected Home devices are mostly planning to buy the Smart Thermostat and Home Hub as their priorities are to save money on energy bills and monitoring their homes remotely [2]."

Notes to editors 

Connected Home: Consumers' Attitudes Towards the Connected Home in the UK is research based on a survey conducted by CP Consulting in October 2015 with a sample of 500 respondents in the age range of 25 to 44 years old. The research analyses attitudes of both likely buyers and non-buyers, segmenting the results by age group, gender, location, education, income and household structure.

CP Consulting (http://www.cpconsul.com) is a London-based consulting and market research company specializing in financial services and insurance in particular. It provides clients with information and strategic insights about major issues in financial services with focus on distribution, innovation and operating models.

[1] Connected Home refers to a home where appliances and devices are connected to each other through the Internet, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or a local Ethernet and that can be operated by a smartphone, tablet or any other computer.

Smart Home is the next level in evolution with an integrated level of device interconnectedness. A Smart Home is a "Connected" Home - and not vice versa - encompassing three additional aspects:

• multiple devices can be controlled from a single app or control system
• devices interact with one another, exchanging relevant information with the Hub that acts as a 'coordinator'
• devices learn from users' behaviour (they are not just controlled by the users), storing and analysing behavioural and usage data.

[2] Key findings of UK Consumers willing to Purchase Connected Home Devices are available here.

Media contact

Roberto Napolitano
[email protected]

SOURCE Connected Home