(Image Credit: Nest)

In research commissioned by Nest and undertaken by Kelton Global and Research Now, 80 percent of US consumers were found to want to make their homes smarter. This is just one finding amongst several which provides a positive impression about the future of the smart home market. 

The growing interest from consumers is equating to sales, with connected home products taking off in retail. “Connected home products like the Nest Thermostat are among one of the fastest growing categories in the retail environment,” said Amanda Parrilli, Director of Connected Home, Home Depot. “And considering the connected home is really just starting to take off, the potential for the market is incredibly exciting.” 

Due to work and other responsibilities, most of us feel we don't get to spend enough time with family. 89 percent of respondents in the study claimed that spending time with family and loved ones is their first priority, and yet 51 percent said they don't have enough time in their day to do everything they need to do. This shows the market opportunity for IoT products to automate tasks and have a clear impact on increasing the amount of time people have for other important aspects of life. 

How many people have been told by someone their weekend was spent catching-up on housework? It might be a while before we all have a robot maid to handle everything which needs doing around the home, but at least in the near-future smart home innovations can achieve things like switching the washing on as we leave the house, and our fridge can keep track of everything we need and generate an order for us to have delivered before we find ourselves without essentials. 

63 percent report they wish their home could take care of itself. Most people would even sacrifice how their home looks if more convenience was offered, with 56 percent responding it's more important their home is comfortable than how good it looks. 

Almost half of Americans indicated security as being the key benefit of connected home products, however, news of vulnerabilities in high-profile IoT products – like SmartThings this week – will end up making consumers feel their products are opening them up to more security risks instead of protecting them. 82 percent highlighted their concern about keeping personal information secure. 

Reducing energy consumption is another key motivator for generating interest of smart home products, with 38 percent reporting it as the key benefit. However, 59 percent of Americans worry about the added energy consumption which IoT products may cause. 

It's little surprise that Nest came out as the brand which came to mind the most with consumers when asked to name players in the “connected or smart home” space. The Google-owned company received 21 percent of mentions, followed by Apple with 12 percent, and Samsung with 8 percent. Apple is particularly interesting as the company doesn't have any physical IoT products on the market unlike rivals, but offers the HomeKit framework to enable devices to integrate with its own. 

“Once viewed as luxury items, connected home products are now reaching mainstream consumers across all ages and incomes,” said Tom Bernthal, founder and CEO, Kelton Global. “What this study tells us is that the connected home space is heating up with a few important brands paving the way and more consumers than ever considering the benefits of embracing the connected lifestyle.” 

IoT adoption is set to grow exponentially over the coming years, and consumers are willing to splash the cash for good products. Despite 43 percent of Americans being concerned their home technology will quickly become outdated, 63 percent are willing to pay extra for high-quality tech. Above everything, 86 percent just want everything in their home to work seamlessly together. 

What do you think about Nest's research findings? Let us know in the comments.

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