Home adoption is growing faster in the U.S., due to the country’s greater prevalence of home security services, the No. 1 application driving smart home implementation, Parks Associates says in a report.
Home adoption is growing faster in the U.S., due to the country’s greater prevalence of home security services, the No. 1 application driving smart home implementation, Parks Associates says in a report.
The European smart home market is moving forward, but differences between Europe and the U.S. create unique challenges. In the U.S., adoption of professionally monitored security exceeds 20% of households. Overall, adoption of professional monitoring services in Europe is under 3% of households.
European and U.S. markets vary greatly. For example, homeownership in Europe is less than in the U.S., and the percentage of multifamily dwellings in Europe is much higher than in the U.S. (65% vs 35%). European renters may not feel able to outfit their space with smart home tech because they do not own that space. Regulations also differ and have an effect on how consumers are able to purchase devices or opt-in to services.
European consumers have yet to identify the “killer” smart home application leading to mass adoption of new products and platforms. As in the U.S., smart home and interactive features have the opportunity to transform the professional home security market.
While professionally installed and monitored residential security is the largest example of smart home deployment in Europe, other applications will be presented with high value propositions in order to increase growth in a continent where monitored security is less prevalent.
Service providers to bring the smart home to Europe
In the U.S., the security channel is the leading channel for smart home services. Many telecoms have entered the security market because it has an established market with a proven approach to generating monthly revenue, and “average revenue per user” is a key metric for that industry.
According to Parks Associates’ survey, network service providers will be the dominant force in bringing smart home services to the mass market, followed closely by retailers and energy providers.