Increasing Share of Homeowners Use Smart Locks, Cameras

The share of broadband households who own a listed smart home device increased by 10% in just two years, according to a new report from Parks Associates. The most popularly adopted smart home products include doorbells, smart light bulbs, and thermostats, but smart locks and networked cameras have been catching up, says Security Info Watch. The 2020 report found 9% of broadband households, or 9 million households, reported having at least one smart home lock and 10%, or 10 million households, have a networked camera. On average, households that owned at least one smart home device increased from having 6.8 to 7.4 devices on average in 2020.

Nearly half of smart door lock owners purchased a smart door lock as their first smart home device – a fairly sizable margin over other popular devices. Smart door lock adoption continues to be driven by strong multi-channel sales efforts and continual product innovation. Between 13 to 15 million exterior door locks are sold to U.S. broadband households each year and approximately 15% of those are smart locks. Retail constitutes the highest channel volume at 43%, with security dealers ranking second. Additionally, consumers report self-installation for nearly two-thirds of smart door locks.

The majority of residential door locks installed in the U.S. are mechanical, but an increasing number of exterior locks in single-family homes are being replaced with smart door locks. Smart door locks and associated whole building access control systems have fueled the recent acceleration in smart apartment adoption, while several major production builders now include them in standard specifications.

Feature innovations, such as biometric verification, integrated video cameras, voice control via smart speakers, and integration with home delivery services help to raise awareness and value perceptions of smart door locks. Increased awareness triggers sales in retail, security, home builder, and system integrator channels.

Smart door lock solutions have seen steady growth among a core group of enthusiasts in the past few years, but barriers impede wider and faster adoption. Although self-installation continues to grow, device setup ranks as a primary problem with almost half of new owners of smart home devices, who report difficulty in the initial setup of smart door locks. Other pain points include data security, privacy concerns, and short battery life.

Leading established players – Schlage, Kwikset and Yale – persist in dominating market share, but more recent entrants and smaller players, such as August, Latch, Lockly and Level Home, are gaining traction by improving on user experience and added benefits through partnerships, open platforms and compatibility with additional devices and providers.

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