Home Depot Wants To Be the Control Hub for All Your Smart Devices

The Home Depot has introduced an app that makes it easier for consumers to control compatible smart home products by saying, “Hey Google” or “Alexa.”

The big-box home improvement retailer says its newly launched “Hubspace” app makes it easy to integrate the smart home products with the Google Home or Amazon Alexa platforms which enable voice commands for hands-free product control. Users can then control the smart home devices by talking straight to one of those digital assistants or by giving commands through the Hubspace app itself.

According to the company’s website, Hubspace currently supports smart products from four different manufacturers and 59 different products, including numerous ceiling fans, a mix of indoor and outdoor lighting, and a range of plugs and connectors. But according to Home Depot’s trademark registration for Hubspace, the retailer is planning to grow its list of connected home and office automation devices.

Meeting Consumer Demand

Home Depot’s Hubspace initiative comes at a time when consumers all over the world are using connected and voice-activated devices to perform an increasing number of day-to-day activities.  In fact, PYMNTS research found that 53 percent of Americans now own smart televisions, one third of consumers have and use voice-controlled smart speakers, while 30 percent own a car that has connected features that enable purchases, entertainment, and more.

Read the report: IoT Moves Beyond ‘Things’ To Create Harmonized Connected Home Experience

PYMNTS also found that as of June, just under 30 percent of all consumers had a voice-connected assistant such as Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant — that’s up from 26 percent the year before.

Learn more: New PYMNTS Data Show Voice-Enabled Commerce Is A Business Winner For 40 Pct Of Consumers

Voice platforms are constantly rolling out new features to make themselves increasingly relevant to consumers’ lives. As players big and small compete, they continue to invest in the products and increase the number of applications that can be controlled by voice. Amazon’s technology evangelist for Alexa recently wrote that the company’s vision for Alexa is for the voice assistant to be “everywhere customers want her to be.”

See also: The Week In Voice Technology: Upgrades, Investments And Digital Wine Discoveries

In addition, PYMNTS found, voice-controlled options are increasingly becoming a competitive advantage too. The survey data also showed that when it comes to making payments, more than 40 percent of consumers said they would be more likely to do business with a company that would let them use voice commands than one that did not.

The turn to tech comes at a time when Home Depot is looking to keep its momentum rolling. In August, the Atlanta-based retailer reported that it topped $40 billion in quarterly sales for the first time in the company’s history. For the three months ending Aug. 1, the retailer’s customer transactions fell roughly 6 percent, although average spending or ticket size rose 11 percent when customers did shop.

As a result, the operator of 2,300 stores in North America reported that it booked $41.1 billion in sales for the second quarter, up $3.1 billion, or 8.1 percent, from the same time a year ago.