New Data Shows Nearly a Third of US Consumers Use Smart Home Devices

Thirty-two percent of consumers — an estimated 83 million people — used smart home or automated chore technologies in May, according to “The ConnectedEconomy™ Monthly Report,” a PYMNTS publication based on a survey of 2,696 U.S. consumers.

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That was equal to the share of consumers who had done so in April but about four percentage points higher than the share who had done so six months earlier, when 28% of consumers said they had used smart home or automated chore technologies in November 2021.

Two of the most popular types of smart home and automated chore devices are home security applications and climate controls. Both are growing more popular with time.

Forty percent of consumers said they had monitored their home’s security using an app or website in May, up from 38% a month earlier and 37% six months earlier.

Thirty-four percent of consumers said they had used a digital device to monitor or control their home’s air quality, lighting, heat, window shades or other features in May, up from 33% in April and 30% in November 2021.

Other popular types of smart home and automated chore devices include automated cleaning tools such as Roombas and pool cleaners, automated utility systems that share their home’s data with local municipal service providers, and voice-activated technologies such as Alexa.

The shares of consumers using these technologies vary from month to month, but the overall trajectory is clear: Smart home and automated chore devices are growing more popular.

In May, 32% of consumers had automated cleaning tasks and 31% had connected information in their homes to municipal services.

In addition, around 30% used voice-activated technologies for one or more tasks, with 30% using them to manage home chores, 30% using them to create shopping lists and 27% using them to make online payments.