New Parks Associates data reveals spike in unresolved problems among smart home device owners

New consumer data from Parks Associates shows 12% of smart home device owners in U.S. broadband households report technical problems going unresolved in 2018, compared to approximately 5% in the previous three years. 360 View: Supporting the Connected Consumer examines consumer appetite for self-help, professional, and premium support services, as well as consumer adoption of extended warranty services and the impact of adoption of smart home devices on support services.

“The number of reported problems declined, but the jump in unresolved problems points to issues getting more complicated and difficult to diagnose,” said Patrice Samuels, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates. “Strong value is achieved from the smart home when devices communicate with each other, but diversity in device technology and communication protocols adds complexity to the smart home and creates challenges in achieving seamless communication.”

Many smart home devices require reliable Wi-Fi to operate, and for many home security and health devices, secure Wi-Fi is critical. Problems with connectivity are now the most persistent problems across all device types, so a support solution that can warn of potential or impending connectivity problems anywhere in a network and take steps to prevent outages will be valuable in the smart home ecosystem.

“The support experience reflects directly on a consumers’ perception of that brand,” Samuels said. “While most brands now recognize the need to adequately support their customers, minimizing the cost of doing so is critical to maintaining profitability. Knowledge about the devices consumers have in their homes helps boost the ability to anticipate challenges and invest in cost-efficient strategies to resolve them.”

360 View: Supporting the Connected Consumer provides insight into the challenges consumers experience with their devices and how to best address consumer support needs.

Additional research:

• 79% of smart home device owners set up at least one device by themselves or with the help of friends and family.
• Only 16% of consumers who set up computing and entertainment devices themselves report that the process is difficult.
• Only 14% of smart home device owners report experiencing one or more problems with a device in 2018.
• 72% percent of consumers who paid one-time fees for support of smart home or computing/entertainment devices paid $50 or more for their service.

For more information about 360 View: Supporting the Connected Consumer, contact [email protected]. To schedule an interview with an analyst or to request specific research data, please contact Julia Homier at [email protected], 972-996-0202.

About Parks Associates: Parks Associates, a woman-founded and certified business, is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates provides business intelligence and research services through its proprietary methodologies developed over decades, including quarterly surveys of 10,000 internet households.

The company's expertise crosses many industries: home security and smart home, streaming video, broadband and pay-TV services, digital media and platforms, gaming, Wi-Fi and home networks, connected health, support, consumer electronics, home control systems, energy management, and tech solutions for the multi-dwelling (MDU), small-to-medium business (SMB), and commercial building markets.

Each year, Parks Associates brings thousands of leaders together for its webinars and annual events. The firm hosts the annual executive research and strategy conferences CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. https://www.parksassociates.com
 

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