85 percent of security dealers offer interactive services, research finds

DALLAS—Parks Associates, a woman-owned and woman-led internationally recognized market research and consulting company, recently unveiled research showing that 85 percent of security dealers offer interactive services for consumers, driving incremental revenues for monthly services.

In addition, the research firm’s findings noted that 36 percent of U.S. broadband households have a security system - up from 26 percent in Q2 2018 - and 39 percent are obtained through security dealer channels.

“Parks Associates consumer surveys consistently find that peace of mind ranks in the top three smart home benefits that most influence purchasing, slightly below convenience and comfort,” said Jennifer Kent, VP, Research, Parks Associates. “Consumers continue to adapt to the pandemic, and there has been an increased reliance on various services in the home, many with reoccurring monthly revenue potential. Security service providers can build on consumer recognition and trust of their peace-of-mind value and extend it to serve new use cases.”

Other research highlights showed that at 41 percent adoption, multifamily residential units (MDUs) are now more likely to own a smart home device than consumers living in single-family homes. In addition, 86 percent of smart home device owners want a single unified app that can control all their smart home devices, and 23 percent of home security system owners want to extend their system to protect their yard and outdoor items.

Parks Associates, in partnership with Alarm.com, recently hosted the industry webinar “A New Era: Home Security Expansion” to discuss new opportunities for manufacturers and service providers as a result of expanding connected product ecosystems for in-premise security and professional monitoring.

In this webinar, Kent, along with Troy Deal, President, Central Florida Alarm Services, and Andy Feldman, VP, North American Field Sales, Alarm.com, shared Parks Associates' latest consumer and security dealer research and discussed the emerging areas where professional services can increase revenue and add value for consumers.

“The webinar with Parks Associates was an exciting collaboration to discuss opportunities to add value to the customer experience, and new use cases beyond just home security,” said Anne Ferguson, Vice President of Marketing, Alarm.com. “With one innovative platform for a truly smart property, Alarm.com continues to innovate with products and services tailored for this new era.”

According to Parks Associates, consumers' expectations for their devices and household services will continue to expand in parallel with their capabilities, opening many more opportunities for specialty providers in the home.

“The future is bright for those companies that recognize the value of choice and the opportunities to create additional stickiness and engagement through new services to consumers,” the research firm noted.

Those interested in viewing the webinar can visit https://www.parksassociates.com/alarm-dec2021.