Which tech giant will win the smart home market, and how will it do it?
Research company Forrester posed these questions in new research about how smart homes will advance the subscription economy.
No one company can rule the market, according to the research. Instead, many players will become important due to the wide-ranging complexity of the smart home — a complexity that has caused slow adoption of smart home tech.
While 59% of consumers are interested in smart home technology, only 20% of US households will have a smart home device (excluding smart speakers) by 2022.
One of the main roadblocks to smart home adoption is that consumers are reluctant to pay more for connected home fixtures/appliances, plus the monthly fee to use them.
To address this challenge, Forrester believes smart home companies will pursue new forms of bundled services that combine monthly subscriptions with smart home products included or discounted.
With greater visibility into customer behaviour and preferences, companies will begin automating routine replenishment for food and household items such as meal kits or toothpaste, manage routine energy use, detect emerging issues with safety and security, and schedule preventive repairs prior to major problems like water leaks.