NEW YORK—A new study shows that nearly a third of all Americans use at least one type of smart or connected device, and that 14% of homes are smart homes.
The report from Experian Marketing Services, “The Internet of Things: Opportunities through the rise in smart devices,” found that consumer interest in three connected device categories has shown significant growth in recent years, with no signs of stopping.
The three areas growing the fastest are smart watches and fitness trackers, smart home devices and smart television devices.
Experian predicts that the smart home device category will see the most growth during the 2014 holiday season. Since the beginning of November 2014, interest in leading smart home devices has increased 54%.
“The rapidly growing trend of the Internet of Things manifested itself during the 2013 holiday season through the popularity of connected fitness trackers, but this year it is all about the emergence of smart home devices,” said John Fetto, senior analyst, marketing and research, Experian Marketing Services. “In fact, as smart home devices graduate from their niche darling status and become adopted and valued by a wider audience, we’re seeing greater recognition of leading category brands like Nest. In return, the growing familiarity with these leading brands is helping to drive awareness for the category overall.”
The consumers that are helping to push connected devices into the mainstream are a key segment to engage, said Experian.
“Smart or connected device users, versus non-users, are generally younger, college educated and affluent,” the company stated. “They are also more likely to be male, racially and ethnically diverse, and have kids at home. Further, users are highly connected, both technologically and socially, to their favorite devices and brands. Overall, they are more than twice as likely than the average U.S. consumer to access social media from different devices, to follow their favorite companies or brands on social media and be connected to the Internet at all times.”
As everyday things get smarter, consumers will grow more reliant on those things to process information and designated tasks autonomously, noted Fetto, adding that marketers must pay attention to the trend. “(Smart devices) will also allow consumers to ‘unglue’ their attention from computer, tablet and smartphone screens. While marketers may think there is still plenty of time before they need to address this nascent trend, or feel it won’t fundamentally impact their business, the rapid rate of growth in consumer interest strongly suggests that connected devices will be commonplace before marketers know it.”
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