Citing economic challenges, the International Data Corp. (IDC) reported that global shipments of smart home devices declined for the first time in 2022. The shipments fell 2.6% year over year (YoY) to 871.8 million units.
“The worldwide smart home market is in a period of volatility,” Adam Wright, research manager, Smart Home and Office Devices at IDC, said in a statement. “Ongoing disruptions from supply chain issues, inflation, and uneven economies across the globe have impacted the market’s growth in 2022 and are expected to continue to put downward pressure on the market for the foreseeable future.”
Smart TVs, which represented the largest category, experienced a 4.3% decline in 2022 due to tough YoY comparisons as the market for TVs and other products was extremely strong in 2021 due to COVID-related purchasing.
Smart home device shipments to decline by 2.6% in 2022 — IDC
Smart home device shipments grew by 11.7% in 2021 — IDC
“Smart TVs will likely face another year of decline in 2023 due to macroeconomic pressures and long replacement cycles,” Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC’s Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers. “With the recent entrance of value-oriented brands such as Amazon and Roku, IDC expects further declines in average selling prices for TVs while also bringing premium features down to more affordable price points.”
However, IDC still sees a bright future for smart home devices with a 2.2% growth projection in 2023 as the global economy recovers. This growth is expected to continue through 2027 with device volumes reaching 1.23 billion in 2027.
Apart from TVs, most other smart home categories such as security cameras, connected doorbells, and door locks along with smart displays are expected to grow thanks to a growing installed base, a recovering economy, and the rise of emerging markets.
“But despite these constraints, the notion of the smart home is now ‘mainstream’ in many parts of the world and consumers are increasingly looking to these devices to elevate their digital experiences at home and beyond,” Wright said.