Stepping Across the Smart Home Divide

No one can doubt that 2020 will be remembered as the year of shattered expectations. For those working in the technology space, the past year has ebbed and flowed — and BOOMED — as consumers have set up shop to work, learn and entertain themselves from the comfort of their homes.

Parks Associates research finds 63 percent of security system owners plan to purchase a smart home device over the next 12 months, compared to 40 percent of all U.S. broadband households. The research firm identifies this segment of security households as a prime target for new device purchases based on their higher affinity to new technologies and greater likelihood of starting a home improvement project due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

That spells huge opportunity for security integrators as we head into 2021. Stepping across the smart home divide may not be as big of a leap as some may think.

Security integrators are well placed to add additional smart home technology options into their offerings. They have the relationships and customers’ trust to secure their home — why not take it to the next level? CEDIA, the global trade association and central touch point for residential technology, can help security professionals maximize the business opportunity to sell smart home products to their existing rolodex of clients. Not only does CEDIA have an extensive on-demand training library to ensure security professionals can integrate new products into their portfolios confidently, but they can also help them make direct connections to innovative vendors that will help them differentiate their offerings.

CEDIA has recently rolled out the Propel affinity program, which is specifically designed to help companies find new technology products while enjoying exclusive member savings. If any security integrator is considering offering consumer smart home device integration services as a loss leader, enrolling in Propel can help them achieve a profitable margin instead.

Data from Parks Associates shows that approximately 10 percent of U.S. broadband households owned a video doorbell in Q2 2020, up from 7 percent in 2017. One of Propel’s first partnering brands is Amazon, which many pros may already be familiar with or actively using. Through Propel, Amazon is extending CEDIA U.S. integrator members’ access to preferred pricing on Echo and Ring devices, with deep discounts of up to 25 percent off when ordered through Amazon for Business.

Propel has also launched with two other brands: Immersive Gyms, which offers a way to deliver dynamic, room spanning, ultra-wide content to users as they train on any equipment; and Bryte, the creator of the restorative bed, an AI-driven smart mattress that proactively adjusts temperature, firmness, support and more.

Propel will continue to be an incubator for new products in the smart home category, so it will continue to be a source for the latest tech as security integrators take hold of the smart home opportunity in the market. As you prepare your business plans for 2021, consider what steps you could take toward offering a wider range of smart home products to your customers. The demand is there — it’s time for security integrators to capitalize on it.

Visit cedia.net/propel for additional information on CEDIA or on the program.