[Etude] Voice assistants, robots, IoT … health home automation products are increasingly appealing to French people

[ad_1]

The smart health home sector is buoyant to say the least. According to a study * carried out by Idealo and published at the end of January 2020, consumers are increasingly favoring robots, smart health connected objects and voice assistants to support them on a daily basis. Thanks to its price comparison tool, available in six Western European countries and listing 145 million offers from more than 14,000 merchants, the company, from the German group Axel Springer, highlights its database to learn some lessons on health home automation purchasing behavior.

AN EXPLOSION OF EQUIPMENT

The sector is surfing on the success of smart health connected speakers and voice assistants. Idealo indicates to note a "accelerating demand for smart health home equipment, the starting point of which is marked by the first voice assistant launched in France" – namely Google health home in August 2017. The study highlights in particular a growth of this last product category of 600% over the year 2018 and 417% between January 2018 and January 2020.

If it is more modest, growth is also confirmed for other products in the health home automation segment. Robot vacuum cleaners (+ 90%), smart health connected thermostats (+ 100% from 2018 to 2019, stable in 2019), health home automation systems (+ 33%) – such as plugs or smart health connected bridges -, kitchen robots (+ 21%) and multifunction (+ 18%) occupy the top of the ranking.

Among the top five best-selling devices in this category, Google's (health home Mini, health home and Nest Hub) dominate – followed by Amazon Echo Dot and Sonos Play: 1. "smart health connected speakers appeal to mass consumers. This is quite a logical phenomenon, since it is a fusion between voice assistants and Bluetooth speakers, two products already widely adopted by the general public. They have been particularly popular during last two months of 2019 ", details the study, which points to the role of Black Friday and the Christmas holidays.

However, this trend would not have been strong enough to allow them to overtake kitchen robots (Moulinex and Seb brand, in the first instance) and vacuum cleaners (iRobot, Neato, Xiaomi), which still largely reign over the smart health home sector. . If the smart health connected speakers pull the sector up, they occupy only the third step of the classification by type of product.

PRICES which vary according to several parameters

For consumers, who are looking for low prices, three parameters should be taken into consideration. Novelty, first. "Once this effect has passed, prices democratize", says the study. The average price of the Google speaker would have dropped by 42% between January 2018 and January 2020, while that of Amazon would, for its part, have benefited from a slightly less frank reduction (33%). A phenomenon that would be all the more true for kitchen robots and health home automation systems, but less notable in terms of smart health connected light bulbs due to slow innovation (stable over two years).

Note that like fruits and vegetables, some products are "seasonal". Their prices fluctuate over the year, depending on the use made of them. For example, a pool robot is sold cheaper in high season (May to August). The same goes for multi-functional robots, which the French buy cheaper before the end of year celebrations… during which they are more inclined to cook. Sales and other promotional periods must also be taken into account.

 "But, beware, a commercial party does not automatically mean reduction for all types of products. Pastry robots and smart health connected bulbs were, for example, more expensive between November and January 2020. It is therefore recommended to inquire, throughout the year, on the price reductions of the desired products ", Idealo alert in its study, conducted over two years.

 "In terms of health home automation, the outsiders who are starting to stand out are thermostats and other remote energy expenditure control objects. Demand has doubled in one year. The French are, in fact, increasingly monitoring their consumption for both economic and ecological reasons, exhibits at The Digital Factory Laurence Rega, Idealo Marketing and Press Relations Manager. Products that were once seen as gadgets, such as robot vacuums, have also become at a time more efficient and cheaper due to competition. "

*Analysis based on the number of clicks made by category between January 1, 2018 and January 15, 2020 on the idealo.com site and calculated based on 100. Rankings established based on the number of purchases of each product between January 1, 2018 and January 15, 2020. Analysis based on the average price per month for each category from January 1, 2018 to January 15, 2020 on the idealo.com website.

[ad_2]