Which Emerging Technologies Do Consumers Feel Will Impact Their Lives?

April 12, 2018

Technology is evolving at a rapid rate, and new developments have the potential to upend industries. But which new trends do consumers feel will impact them the most? As it turns out, the broadest consensus is for the Smart Home, which 58% of respondents surveyed by GfK feel will have an impact on their lives.

That’s up from 51% envisioning an impact from a similar survey conducted in 2015. Interestingly, 25-34-year-olds (68%) are more likely than 18-24-year-olds (57%) to believe in the Smart Home’s emerging impact on their lives.

(The Smart Home was defined as a “smart house in which most things are interconnected.”)

Meanwhile, among the 11 emerging digital technologies identified, only one other was cited by a majority of respondents as having a future impact on their lives: Mobile Payments (52%). Adoption of mobile payments in the US has been hindered by security concerns, but is likely to grow.

Rounding out the top 5 in consumers’ eyes are Wearable Technology (39%), Cloud Computing (38%) and Connected Cars (31%).

Half of US Consumers Own A Smart Home Device

The rising share of people seeing an impact from the Smart Home can likely be traced to greater adoption of these connected technologies. The GfK survey reveals that 49% of US adults own at least one smart home product or device, and one-third (34%) own multiple such devices.

Ownership of smart home products (excluding smart TVs) is highest among the 25-34 (64%) and 35-44 (58%) brackets, though a majority (53%) of 18-24-year-olds also report ownership of at least one device.

The most common of those is of course the digital assistant: some 21% report using a Smaller Format Digital Assistant Device, as Smart Speaker adoption continues to expand.

Other Smart Home products currently used by US adults include Smart Thermostats (18%), Smart Coffee Makers (14%) and Streaming Multi Room Audio (14%).

Earlier this year the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) projected 40.8 million Smart Home unit sales in 2018, which would represent 41% year-over-year growth in unit sales.

About the Data: GfK’s findings are based on 1,000 interviews with US consumers representative of the online audience. Surveys were completed on smartphones, tablets, laptops and PCs.

45th Parallel Design Ad

Explore More Charts.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This