Consumer Survey Shows Connected Homeowners' Priorities

With all the data coming out of IoT research in the past few months, there’s been a major gap in the intelligence gathering: the consumer. That oversight has now been rectified, at least in part.

Essence, a global provider of cloud-based connected home solutions for the IoT, recently concluded a survey of consumers in the United States and Europe designed to gain insight into their priorities for development of IoT-based smart home management solutions.

During the first six months of 2015, the company worked with research firm Strategy Analytics to perform the in-depth study of consumer preferences and practices relating to new products and services.

Essence dedicated much of the survey to discovering what motivates end-users and what they value as most important for smart home functionality. According to the results, the respondents identified security as the primary need in a smart home system for both Americans and Europeans. Intrusion protection is key, especially in terms of traditional alarms and the automatic notification of homeowners and law enforcement of breaches.

The majority of those surveyed expressed willingness to pay for a service based on remote security monitoring, both in terms of one-off equipment payment and ongoing monthly services. Europeans reported a willingness to pay 50 percent more for startup hardware costs than U.S. consumers. Both regions said they’d pay monthly fees for an IOT-based home management solution controllable from any device or location.

“The survey reveals the consumer motivations and demands that will drive our partners’ success,” said Dr. Haim Amir, founder & CEO, Essence. “By helping them to understand their customers’ concerns, they will be able to use Essence’s technology to tailor their products and services to deliver exactly what their customers want.”

As a second priority, American answerers showed interest in fire safety and convenience, while Europeans want energy cost saving measures, including remote monitoring and control of lights and HVAC systems.

“The study brings important actionable data at a time where there is very little understanding in the market as to what the consumer values most,” said Bill Ablondi, Director, Smart Home Strategies advisory and lead analyst for the project, Strategy Analytics. “We have managed to identify how a service provider can attain success with a clear proposition with the right go-to-market strategy.”