Smart Home Device Sales Rose Sharply in 2020, Xiaomi Survey Shows

A new study by Xiaomi found that since March 2020 showed a huge rise in the number of people buying smart home products. According to the survey, 70 percent of consumers have reported making changes in their living environment due to spending more time at home during the pandemic. With many more people working from home, it's no surprise that that 51 percent of the consumers reported purchasing at least one smart device during that period.

The survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 1,000 nationally representative US adults. The participants took part in an online survey between December 11 and December 16, 2020.

Three out of every five respondents said that since their leisure and work environment has become one, it became difficult for them find a different space to relax at home. 63 percent of the participants of the study purchased smart home devices, 79 percent configured at least one room in their house and 82 percent adapted a room for working from home.

Talking about the study, Daniel Desjarlais, Global Product Marketing Manager, Xiaomi said, “Smart living has always been about reimagining and optimising physical space to solve problems and adapt to new realities through the use of technology, and we've seen this adoption accelerate in 2020”.

He further elaborated on how connected homes, automated systems, and new technology are helping people create new ecosystems within their homes including adapting new uses for old spaces or creating a more streamlined home.

Majority of the people adapted existing spaces to serve new purposes. This makeshift spacing arrangement was popular across all age groups – 63 percent of the respondents adapted their spaces in response to staying home more. The makeshift arrangement was particularly popular among young people as 91 percent Gen Z and 80 percent Millennials modified their living spaces too.

Consumers bought two new smart devices on average for their home since March. The number went up to 3 smart home devices on average for Gen Z. 82 percent of the participants agreed that there are remarkable advantages to a home with smart devices.

The trend is here to stay as consumers have started looking at smart home devices as a part of their long-term solutions. 60 percent of the consumers will continue using their home for activities that are usually done elsewhere. 39 percent of consumers will upgrade their devices and 41 percent redesign a room if the stay-at-home orders continue into 2021.

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