20% of American Households Now Have a Smart Video Doorbell

“Why are smart doorbells all the rage right now?” I found myself Googling as I steadily began conducting research for this article. (Literally, that’s what I Googled; we have to start somewhere, right?) Individuals and families who have smart-enabled doorbells (a super commonplace part of homes, in this day and age) enjoy benefits like security at the touch of a button (in terms of accessing smart doorbell video and audio info via an app), convenience that goes along with that, often intuitive integration with a variety of other smart home ecosystem devices, and the fact that – for easy notifications of who’s coming and going, with timestamps and even for package monitoring – the doorbells are typically inexpensive. That’s attractive, in and of itself.

Parks Associates, a company that leverages consumer and industry data to empower smart data-driven decisions and improved overall services and satisfaction, has been keeping an eye (much like a smart doorbell) on markets for tech like smart doorbells. Parks Associates found that 20% of U.S. households now have at least one, in terms of home security. This is up 4% from 2017, growth that can be attributed to the popularity and success of Ring, as well as the hype for smart devices that came with purchasing surges during the COVID-19 pandemic when we were all stuck at home.

Parks Associates also reported that, in its own words, “though less-than-ideal market conditions persist, smart home purchasing remains steady, and purchase intentions have rebounded over the first half of 2023.”

Moreover, the research highlights how, as of this article’s publication, 29% of homes with a smart home device like a smart doorbell own an additional 3-5 smart devices, and those homes are basically marked as “enthusiasts,” even if some don’t consider themselves quite so tech-inclined.

"Consumers have continued interests in safe security products with smart features that extend the understanding of the environment and can provide accurate and relevant alerts," said Elizabeth Parks, CMO of Parks Associates.

"This is a big and exciting jump in adoption for the video doorbell category."

Editor’s note: Parks Associates surveys 8,000-10,000 U.S. households each quarter and completes additional consumer surveys throughout the year. That’s a lot of coverage, representation-wise.

Read more here.