Smart Home Devices Make for ‘Attractive Gifts,’ and Data Support That, Parks Says

Smart home devices are moving "closer to mass-market adoption," pushed in large part by retailer "initiatives" this holiday selling season, Parks Associates said Wednesday in a report. Parks research shows 37 percent of U.S. broadband homes planning to buy a smart home device in the next 12 months, the company said, and "multiple retailers are expanding the shelf space devoted to these devices, with Best Buy in particular devoting over 800 square feet in some locations to its connected home initiative," it said. The entry into the smart home category of big brands like Apple, Google and Honeywell "is also increasing consumer awareness and making smart home devices popular as gifts," it said. Parks surveys found that 15 percent of the connected devices purchased in 2014's first nine months were given as gifts, with the proportions as high as 27 percent for smart thermostats, it said. On average, about a third of smart devices acquired in 2013 were given as gifts, and Parks "expects the final numbers in 2014 to top that," it said: "Purchase intentions for smart devices are increasing, and this rise speaks to the marketing and brand power of manufacturers like Google, which acquired Nest, and Honeywell. The brand recognition combined with the unique quality of these products makes them attractive gifts, so 2014 holiday shopping is going to help push the smart home out of the early adopter phase." For 2015, Parks expects adoption of smart devices will "increase dramatically," it said.