The smart home is not about to make a breakthrough
The so-called Smart Home was able to increase its level of awareness among consumers compared to the previous year. At the same time, their intention to buy has decreased. This is what the independent craftsmen's portal Ofri determined in its latest survey. A breakthrough in networked devices is therefore not to be expected anytime soon.
According to a media release , the craftsmen's portal Ofri again asked 339 tenants and owners about networked appliances in the household. According to this, awareness and use of the intelligent home in Switzerland have increased slightly compared to the previous year. Instead of two, three out of ten participants now use a so-called smart home device at home. A total of 69.3 percent and thus 12.3 percent more people said they had heard of it. Homeowners are on average more affectionate to these devices than tenants.
However, only 10.5 percent of them expressed their intention to buy a smart home device in the next twelve months. The main obstacles given by the participants were the rental accommodation, the renovation costs and the lack of benefits. From this, Ofri concludes that despite increased awareness, smart home manufacturers cannot expect a breakthrough anytime soon. The lockdown did not increase the usage rate either, said Corina Burri from Ofri. "There was no increase in smart home device ownership after March 16, 2020."
There was no change in the most popular smart home devices compared to the previous year. Most of the respondents use networked lighting systems, music systems and televisions. Dishwashers, smoke detectors, ovens and washing machines are rarely used.