40% of US millennials want a smart home

According to a new research from the NPD Group, interest in smart home technology has been high among many, especially for those under the age of 34. In fact, 40 percent of millennials in the US desire a smart home. In addition, 23 percent of the said generation has already installed at least one smart home product versus 12 percent for the total population.

One of the key factors for the rise of the smart home segment has been the adoption of smart home products by renters. The introduction of a number of wireless smart home products has allowed the heretofore ignored renter market to become almost as significant as the homeowner segment.

ADT, when it announced its partnership with LG earlier this year for a smart home hub, expressed that – the decoupling of services and hardware allows them to address the rental market in ways that they were unable to in the past. In addition, millennials are far less likely to own a home in the US, partly as a consequence of the recent financial crisis and the ballooning of student loan debt.

Overall, affordability, portability, and ease-of-use have been the most important aspects for new products in the marketplace. Plug-and-play options for millennials who are used to controlling systems with their smartphones are likely to be preferred over professional installation.