Home Automation

Overview

Connected Intelligence® tracks the connected consumer, complementing sales data by quantifying what happens after a device is purchased. Detail on device ownership and usage patterns among various consumer segments, augmented by our industry advisors’ expertise, informs product development strategy and content partnership decisions.

Connected Intelligence answers these questions:

  1. What is the penetration mix across the smart home categories, and which categories show the greatest growth potential? 
     
  2. What is the demographic makeup of connected home product owners today? How is that different from before? 
     
  3. How has awareness of smart home products changed over time? How has ownership changed? 
     
  4. Which connected home product categories are growing the most, and how can I plan better product launches in the future? 
     
  5. What other devices best complement connected home devices to encourage further usage and the purchase of additional devices?
     
  6. What is the current mix of connected home product buyers in each category within retail, e-commerce, and brick-and-mortar? 
     
  7. What are the most viable use cases for connected home products? How are consumers using them now? 
     
  8. How has the retail sales mix of connected home products changed over time – overall and by individual product category? 
     
  9. How are consumers using voice control? What are the top actions? 
     
  10. Where should I sell existing and future connected home products?


Recurring Reports

Ownership and Usage Report (semiannual): 
Based on insights from a consumer survey fielded twice a year, this report covers consumer adoption and usage of home automation products from the point of purchase to how they are used in the home. Includes shipping behavior, awareness and ownership, usage, smart speakers and display use.

Home Automation Industry Overview (annual delivery): 
This report informs our clients about the direction of the home automation market and the trends/market drivers that will shape the future of the industry and various product categories. It also looks at the year-over-year dollar and unit sales numbers for each of the overall home automation categories and the top three OEMs in each space. 

Home Automation Marketplace Report (quarterly delivery): 
This is a quick, one-stop shop for comparing products and features by category, all in one place. It updates our clients on home automation products available in retail. 

Week in Review: 
This report loops our clients in on the latest market happenings and key initiatives to inform decisions and planning.

About the Analyst: Ben Arnold

Ben Arnold is executive director of analysis and covers consumer electronics with an emphasis on video and audio products. A veteran analyst, he has covered the media and technology industries for over 10 years with an eye on trends in consumer habits and usage.

Ben offers expert insight and commentary on these and other industry related topics: audio and video electronics sales and trends, consumer demographic and usage profiles, consumer attitudes at retail, and trends in device feature sets. His work has been featured extensively in industry publications TWICE and Dealerscope, and has been quoted in news and business outlets such as the Financial Times, MSNBC.comPCMag, The Verge, The Washington Post, and Forbes. He has presented and served on panels at industry events including CES and Digital Media Conference.

In addition to his tenure at Circana, Ben has experience as a senior director at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and as a senior analyst at USA TODAY. Ben has a BA in International Relations from the University of Virginia.