UK consumers are buying into smart home devices

It’s official: UK consumers love smart home devices. In fact, Brits are more likely than most other European nation to buy a home voice-assistant speaker such as an Amazon Echo or Google Home. Amazon’s home speaker is the most trusted among Brits with 28 per cent opting for the Echo, compared to 24 per cent of UK consumers trusting the Home.

The Germans are still leading the way in terms of smart home purchases, however Context global managing director Adam Simon believes that the UK will catch up. “There’s still some way to go yet”, he said. “Although UK consumers are considered the most internet-savvy in Europe, evidenced by strong online banking and media catch-up penetration, just 9 per cent currently control their home remotely, according to the study.”

Sales of smart home products in general are expected to hit the roof over the next 12 months. The European survey by CONTEXT revealed that consumers are now much more aware of smart products, and are also more likely to invest in them, compared to the same time last year.

Over 81 per cent of the 4,500 people surveyed now recognise the term ‘smart home’, compared to just 38 per cent in 2015 and 39 per cent a year ago. It also revealed that 13 per cent of those surveyed expect to have a smart home device within 12 months, compared to just 10 per cent last year, with the intent to buy increasing among almost all categories.

Voice-controlled devices are seen as the major driver in the smart home field, with 32 per cent of those surveyed claiming that they’d be happy to splash out up to £250 on a smart speaker. That is almost double the number who opted for the same deal 12 months ago. Women and 18-24 year olds are particularly excited about the smart home.