Gekko
Be Smart Tech Savvy Daniel Todaro, Managing Director of Gekko, gives his take on consumer demand for smart tech.
T
he pandemic has changed the way we interact with our homes. Having spent an inordinate amount of time lounging around the house with our families, we have found new and interesting ways to not only entertain ourselves but also protect ourselves. At the heart of this has been smart technology that has enabled us to stream, cast, view, listen, observe and command and it’s unlikely we’re going to see an immediate cessation of the trend. In the UK our thirst for smart technology continues and revenue in the Smart Home market (not including smart TV’s) is set to reach £5,277m in 2021 with an expected annual growth rate (CAGR 2021-2025)* of 15.06%, resulting in a projected market volume of £9,249m by 2025. So what does this mean for brands and retailers? It’s a positive trend that nods to an opportunity for all to continue focusing on as our homes become outdated and the need to update becomes essential and not merely fanciful. The trend is set to see the Smart Home market increase across the number of active households to 18.7m users by 2025. This 40
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July/August 2021
household penetration will increase from the forecasted 37.4% in 2021 to hit 63.0% by 2025. That’s not the only positive signal. The amount we are prepared to spend is also uplifting with the average spend per installed Smart Home currently forecasted at £481.83 and even if this does not materialise, it indicates the scale of the opportunity from every customer that enquires or starts the journey of upgrading to Smart technology. The global comparison reveals that most revenues in the sector are naturally generated in the United States, where the size of the market is over four times that of the UK at £22,408m in 2021. So even though we may not be in the same league as our US cousins, we are performing well for a nation of our size, one that is full of early adopters looking to spend on new technology before our EU neighbours. More importantly though, just look deeper at the demographic spread. In 2020 the share of 36.5% of users adopting smart technology was in the medium income group but even more interesting is that the share of 28.8% of users/purchasers were in the 25-34 year old age range. www.pcr-online.biz
