CES 2022: More Multi-Dwelling Units Adopting Smart Home Devices

LAS VEGAS, January 11, 2022 — A smart home analyst said at the Consumer Electronics Show last week that more families living in multi-dwelling units are increasingly purchasing smart home devices, providing a boost to connectivity devices.

“Old trends are continuing,” said Parks Associates analyst Chris White. “Single family home residents own more smart home devices, but MDUs are more likely to buy.”

The top reason for this shift in consumer behavior is falling prices, White said. White presented data from his firm showing that the average price of networked cameras, smart thermostats, and smart door locks have sharply declined between 2017 and 2020.

To facilitate wider adoption of smart devices, companies employ strategies such as including “value-tier” and “premium-tier” devices across their product portfolio and, in the case of home monitoring, offering professional monitoring across all product lines.

“We need to have a bigger range of smart home devices,” added Samantha Fein Osborne, vice president of businesses development for Samsung’s SmartThings. “You can buy a smart device for $9 and $300. We need to run the gamut because the real priority is personalization and choice,” she said.

Companies should also think about ways to connect their products with critical services that customers use every day, the conference heard.

Blake Miller, founder of Homebase.ai, said that its important to connect residents with critical services in the community with technology. Homebase.ai offers a “connected building solution” for multifamily housing, enabling apartment buildings the ability to offer smart access control, community Wi-Fi, device automation, and internet-connected appliances.

“We work with Walmart to do remote grocery delivery,” Miller said. “It provides value to the resident and to the property owner,” he said.