Over the past 10 years, the technical landscape of US households has evolved significantly. The technical composition inside the home is different in several ways, and old models of break/fix support no longer meet consumer needs. The tools and the types of support services needed have changed.

According to Parks Associates research, US broadband households now have an average of 9.1 computing and entertainment devices, 1.2 connected health devices, and 2.0 smart home devices. Additionally, 26% of US broadband households report purchasing a consumer electronic device during the pandemic between February 2020 and May 2020.

Consumers also report an increase in purchase intentions for these devices, likely driven by new social distancing guidelines brought on by COVID-19, which requires many individuals to work and attend school from home.

Among the 26% of US broadband households that purchased a connected device during the COVID-19 crisis (between February 2020 to May 2020), the leading reasons given for purchase were for entertainment, to help someone work from home, and to help someone in the home complete school work remotely.

This increase in connected home devices has led to an increase in tech support needs. These new technical support needs have created new opportunities for service providers. these providers have opportunities to generate additional revenues by bundling technical support services for emerging connected devices with existing services.

Learn more in Parks Associates’ recently released whitepaper, Supporting the Connected Consumer, released in cooperation with Sutherland. Download today.