Our homes are expected to become increasingly connected; but despite a plethora of smart home technology launches, certain use cases have broken through quicker than others. Their adoption offers a fascinating insight into human needs today.

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SMART
What smart homes tell
us about human needs

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What smart homes tell us about human needs
Our homes are our sanctuary; a place we can truly be ourselves, surrounded by just our
closest loved ones. The way we interact with our homes can tell us a lot about the state of
the world we currently live in.
Our homes are predicted to undergo an evolution, with a plethora of connected devices
launching and analysts announcing that smart homes are the future. As with all
technology, though, the speed at which these will be adopted is dependent on
overcoming the valid concerns people have, in this case, inviting further connectivity into
our homes. 47% of people globally in 2018 said they were not interested in owning a smart
assistant1
; with 34% of US adults expressing concerns about getting hacked while using
smart home technology, 33% are uneasy about data privacy2
.
But our relationships and concerns are expected to change as we become more
accustomed to smart home devices. Households globally have an average of seven smart
home devices today, with adoption expected to grow at speed from here; analysts predict
we will reach an average 12 devices per household in 20223
.
However, this predicted growth is not universal across all connected devices, certain areas
of smart home technology are breaking through quicker than others. Their adoption offers
a fascinating insight into human needs today.
HUMAN NEEDS ACCORDING TO MASLOW
In the 1940s, motivational psychologist Abraham Maslow identified a hierarchy of needs,
which to this day acts as a relevant framework for evaluating society. His theory was that
as we fulfilled each need – beginning with the very basic physiological needs of heat, food
and water – we would progress on up to the next need. Following physiological needs, he
hypothesized that we need to feel safe; then we a sense of belonging; then esteem and
accomplishment; and finally, once we had achieved all of the other needs, we could
achieve self-actualisation – which according to Maslow himself, is the desire “to become
everything one is capable of becoming.”4
If you follow the launches of connected home devices, development has roughly followed
the hierarchy that Maslow set out:
1
FF 2018
2
https://today.yougov.com/topics/consumer/articles-reports/2018/06/25/smart-appliances-awareness-high-knowledge-
low
3
Ovum analysis, 2018
4
https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

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What smart homes tell us about human needs
FULFILLING BASIC HUMAN NEEDS
Many of the smart home devices on the market today offer enhanced solutions to the
more basic needs identified by Maslow – our physiological needs of heat and water can be
better met by smart utility appliances, such as thermostats and meters; and safety could
be improved by connected security devices such as webcam-enabled doorbells.
This basic human need for safety seems to have been a particularly important driver in
smart device adoption. Of the 12 devices predicted to be a part of our homes by 2022, 7.5
are forecast to be security-related5
. Security devices such as webcams and doorbells are
actually fast reaching maturity and are only expected to see a small amount of growth in
sales in 2018 vs 20176
”:
“Security is a very compelling use case, it’s very easy to sell.”
Mariana Zamoszczyk, Senior Analyst at Ovum, at Ovum’s
recent Digital Futures event
Meanwhile, assisted living – the use of panic buttons and GPS trackers to better support
elderly loved ones – is set to grow, with 8.5m households globally predicted to use them
by 20227
. This growth is fuelled by multiple factors – the global population is aging; public
funding will struggle to meet our social care needs going forward, and private care is
prohibitively expensive for many. These assisted living offerings move us towards the
third level of Maslow’s theory, combining security with our loved ones.
But, it seems our most basic needs have not motivated consumers to adopt smart
technology in the way security and belonging seem to have done. Smart utility devices
have been adopted much more slowly, with fewer than 10% of global households
predicted to have smart thermostats in 2018, against 20% for outdoor security webcams8
.
Perhaps for many of us, these needs are perceived as fulfilled, and are not something we
actively think about investing in. Meanwhile, the needs for security and belonging appear
to be incredibly compelling for consumers globally.
HIGHER-LEVEL NEEDS
The idea of connected devices designed to bring to life some of our more advanced
needs is not new. Fitness wearables, in particular, meet some of our highest-level needs,
5
Ovum analysis 2018
6
Ovum analysis 2018
7
Ovum analysis 2018
8
Ovum analysis 2018

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What smart homes tell us about human needs
with health associated with progression and status for many wearers. These wearable
devices faced fewer barriers to adoption than smart home devices as they did not have to
break the barriers of finding a permanent place in our homes or our lives; consumers
could wear them one day and abandon them to the bottom of a drawer the next.
The next generation of smart home devices are beginning to target some of these higher-
level needs and are having to break this boundary of finding a permanent position. Smart
speakers are predicted to become “the flagship product of the smart home,” and will
change the way we interact with the smart home, according to Zamoszczyk. They will
enable advanced home automation, which will begin to reduce many of our everyday
chores - in theory allowing more room for activities that achieve higher needs like
spending time with your loved ones or on hobbies. And it is for this reason that many are
attracted to these devices. 90% of those globally that are interested in owning a smart
assistant would be interested in letting it automatically re-order basic household products
on their behalf when they run out9
.
But current usage does not reflect users freeing up time for their higher needs. Whether
this is because these needs are not top of mind every day, whether it is the experience
that is holding us back from using smart speakers to their full potential, or whether we
have yet to trust these devices to really look after our homes, is not clear. What is clear is
that despite the development of tens of thousands of smart speaker skills, the function
they are most regularly used for is turning the TV on and off. 17% of users ask their smart
speaker to do this every day. As Ovum’s Rob Gallagher quipped, so-called ‘smart’ devices
don’t have to be clever, they just have to be useful.
WHAT SMART HOME DEVICES TEACH US ABOUT HUMAN NEEDS
The development of smart home devices does seem to have roughly tracked Maslow’s
hierarchy, beginning with utility and building up to fulfil more advanced needs. However,
the fact that usage has focused around the middle needs of security and belonging
suggest that these needs are those that consumers today need most help with; that we
cannot progress on to the next needs until we have better met these.
This has implications for brands that go far beyond those looking to develop connected
home offerings. The needs of security and belonging appear to remain prevalent in
today’s society – this should be where we focus our energy, on helping consumers to feel
more secure, and feel that they belong.
9
FF 2018

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What smart homes tell us about human needs
If you are interested in learning more about the subject of this article, please contact
Sarah Emmerson, Insights Planner, emmersons@bbdoknows.com
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