VR, Smart Homes Tech Are Hot. So Is The Price.
Demand and uptick for smart home accessories like security cameras, smart doorbells and smart locks, first fueled by the pandemic nearly two years ago, is potentially here to stay, according to latest forecasts by research firm NPD Group.
In 2022, smart home devices are expected to see unit growth of 6% along with revenue gains of 2%, bringing total sales to over $4.1 billion, according to NDP.
"Sales of smart home devices had a strong 2021 holiday season, and we are forecasting unit and dollar sales to continue growing through 2024,”Ben Arnold, executive director and technology industry analyst for NPD said in a statement.
Sales of consumer tech rose 9% to clock nearly $127 billion in the second year of the coronavirus pandemic.
The gains in the smart home segment will be driven by security focused segments, including security cameras (up 2%), smart doorbells (up 13%), and smart locks (up 8%), as well as in segments more focused on convenience and energy savings, such as smart power (up 4%).
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year, a new open-source smart home interface called "Matter" reportedly created a lot of buzz because it claims to make every connected home device work together, simply and securely, The Verge reported.
PCMag listed General Electric's(GE) - Get General Electric Company Report outdoor security camera Cync Outdoor Smart Camera, to be launched next month, among the best smart home devices from CES 2022, priced starting at $99.99 and $129.99.
Other smart home devices listed by PCMag included the "Masonite M-Pwr Smart Door" with flagship features like motion-sensing LED lights, a Ring video doorbell, and a Yale Home smart lock and door state sensor, all built right into the door. The price is undisclosed.
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“Consumers are also focused on entertainment, which will result in sales growth for standalone VR headsets and big screen TVs (65-inches and above) through the forecast period," Arnold added.
"While VR offers a unique entertainment experience, growth in big screen TVs will continue from pre-pandemic trends towards larger screen sizes," Arnold said.
Virtual reality and augmented reality are often considered to be relatively hot topics in the tech industry because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up changing the way we interact with the world around us.
Facebook recently changed its name to Meta in order to focus on the metaverse, a digital space, and the various ways in which it can improve people’s interactions with one another and provide new opportunities for gaming and the like as well.
Overall revenues from the consumer tech segment are expected to decline 5% in 2022 with estimated gradual declines of 4% in 2023, and 1% in 2024 respectively, NPD data suggests.
“In the near-term we are anticipating slowing demand from the extraordinary rates we have been seeing over the last two years,”Stephen Baker, vice president and industry advisor for NPD said in a statement.
“With such high levels of purchasing in 2020 and 2021 driven, in many cases, by pandemic lifestyle changes, we are seeing a larger, and younger, installed base for a number of devices. This will inevitably slow consumer needs in the immediate future for technology updates and upgrades," Baker added.
