Been on the fence wondering if adding home controls to your installation repertoire makes good business sense? Recent data compiled by Parks Associates might influence you to take the plunge.
According to a report by the Dallas-based research firm, the market penetration for home controls in U.S households is forecast to shoot from 6 percent to almost 20 percent by 2014. The firm bases the measurement on its research of consumers, electronic systems contractors, security dealers, electrical contractors, builders and multifamily executives.
What’s driving the increased adoption? Consumers keen on energy management, entertainment systems control and remote home monitoring. And, so claims Parks Associates, installers have an important role to play in fueling this growth by helping educate their customers and pricing their services reasonably.
Titled Home Systems: Home Controls — Analysis and Forecasts, the report finds “low consumer awareness and a shortage of affordable installation services currently hinder widespread adoption.”
Several big brand names that have entered the space, including ADT, Schlage, Best Buy and Radio Shack, are expected to help grow this market. But other providers as well ought to be focusing their value proposition on specific, easily understood applications in order to build consumer awareness and lay the foundation for future expansion.
The aforementioned home controls categories are key since, once established with the consumer, they can serve as the base for expanded control systems in the home, says Bill Ablondi, Parks’ director of home systems research.
To illustrate Ablondi’s point, consider these numbers from Parks’ forecast: as prices for home theater and audio system controls come down, penetration will expand from 5 percent to 17 percent by 2014. Here’s the appealing part … these systems can then be expanded to integrate lighting, window treatments and security controls — a strategy that will help push penetration of control systems overall to almost 20 percent of households by 2014.
Is the suggested growth potential here — and the opportunity to expand your product and services portfolio — enough to entice you?
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