The Internet of Things allows our environment to adapt to us so we can better engage, learn, and live within it. Now and tomorrow, we continue to prioritize connections; connecting with your home, with your body, with your city in new ways. LIttle by little making smart technology in our daily lives prevalent.
Use of smart technology is growing leaps and bounds everyday – from smart phones and personal devices to smart homes, smart cars, and smart cities – becoming more a part of everyday life for many consumers.
It’s important to develop a better understanding of the smart technology market by profiling distinct consumer segments and exploring how they live and interact with ‘smart’ technology in their day to day lives.
At Key Lime interactive, using a combination of customer research, predictive analytics and qualitative personas (digital ethnographies), to conduct an internal research study on the impact of smart technology in the lives of KLI employees. As a result, we have provided an insightful and unique look at the smart lives technology consumer.
Using an app that was installed on a smartphone, individuals could keep track of their experiences throughout the day, as well as record emotional reactions or feelings at the time of usage. This tool allowed users to snap photos, record video and write about what they are experiencing as they experience it. For this internal study, we focused mainly on the ways in which KLI employees interacted with AI devices such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home.
We gathered the results from all the individual’s experiences as recorded through the app, to learn how people see the evolving role of smart technology in their lives and what are their expectations for the near future.
Below, some of the main trends in terms how users interact with technology and what their expectations for the future are:
The less experienced users, with few devices in their possession, see smart technology as a luxury, not a necessity. These were employees that had just recently acquired one or more pieces of smart technology. They favor practical devices that serve immediate needs with conveniences that conventional counterparts do not offer.
They use smart Tech devices mainly to:
The customer for which Smart technology covers already an important role in their lives tends to learn quickly and appreciates the accessibility and conveniences smart tech devices offer. These were employees that already had one or more smart devices and were familiar with how to use them effectively. They are satisfied as long as it completely serves the function of its conventional counterpart.
As a result, they use smart Tech devices mainly to:
In general, smart technology is subject to a continuous evolutive process. It brings benefits to the user’s lives, but not without some concerns.
The most common concerns of using Smart tech devices as expressed by KLI employees were:
As smart technology continues to improve, users’ needs will also evolve. There are several capabilities that the users expect to have in the future when it comes to smart technology:
The market value of smart home technology is projected to be a billion-dollar by 2020, and it represents the most advanced sector of the Internet of Things.
Smart Technology’s appeal is evident. More information, more control, and more automation of the home allows to make better decisions and optimize the use of limited resources to better enhance the overall user experience.
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