The smart home industry is anxiously waiting to learn if the arrival and popularity of retail smart home products including connected lighting, connected thermostats, doorbell cameras, smart speakers, and other retail consumer electronics will take a bite out of integrated, smart home security systems. The question is, will interest in these smart products increase awareness and interest in professionally installed systems? Early this year, ADT, the king of installed and professionally monitored security systems, released Blue, a do-it-yourself solution aimed at upstarts such as SimpliSafe, Ring’s Alarm Security Kit, and Nest’s Secure Alarm System. Blue is a rebranding of ADT’s Lifeshield entity, complete with a new line of indoor, outdoor and doorbell cameras.
Looking at the performance of the makers and dealers of top professionally installed security systems, ADT, Vivint, Comcast Xfinity, and Alarm.com, evidence suggests that these companies are faring well in the smart home era. ADT’s latest annual report shows 12% annual growth, Vivint’s 2018 revenues increased 19% over 2017, Xfinity increased 4% (2019 over 2018) and Alarm.com’s latest annual revenues increased 19% over 2018.
Interpret’s quarterly consumer survey of 9,000 U.S. households confirms that report owners of smart home security system are nearly twice as likely to purchase stand-alone smart home products in the coming three months.
Those who have purchased a smart security system have experienced the convenience and control of smart home products and are enthusiastic supporters of the product category. Of those who intend to purchase at least one of the mentioned smart home products, 58% are homeowners and 31% are renters.
The types of smart products that renters intend to purchase are not markedly different from that of homeowners, except for products that require more permanent installation, such as doorbell cameras and networked security cameras.
Renters’ lack of interest in pet cameras can be attributed to renters having less access to a fenced yard or garden, and subsequently lower ownership of cats and dogs.
Regardless of home ownership status, or home security system ownership status, over 10% of consumers expect to purchase one or more smart home products, providing a strong outlook for the industry.
