Allegion looks at consumers' experiences with security

CARMEL, Ind.—Allegion, with Wakefield Research, recently surveyed about 1,000 U.S. adults to learn more about their experiences with security.

The survey questions, and responses, helped Allegion in “understanding security issues that happen and how [we can] have products that solve those issues,” Ann Matheis, marketing leader, multi-family, for Allegion, told Security Systems News. The survey asked about whether survey takers worry about leaving their door unlocked, lost the key to their home or if they—or someone they know—had experienced a break-in.

The information covered in the survey could “help property managers make good security decisions about what they're putting on their properties and how they can manage some of these concerns within their properties,” according to Matheis.

“Traditional mechanical security and electronic security is converging in the consumer world, both on the residential—as well in the commercial—side of the business,” Robert Gaulden, director, aftermarket and electronics sales, Allegion, told SSN. “This will help us understand where our product sets and our solutions fall today, as well as if we need to continue to adjust and implement additional solutions down the road.”

Seventy-five percent of Americans surveyed said they felt uncertain about whether they locked the door to their house. This number is higher with millennials—83 percent—and with parents—81 percent.

“We thought that was interesting because we do have some single family product solutions [where] you can actually tell whether or not your door has been locked,” Matheis said.

Fifty-six percent of survey respondents lost or misplaced the key to their home. This figure was also higher among millennials—69 percent—and parents—66 percent. A person, particularly a millennial, is not likely to lose their phone, Matheis noted, and Allegion offers some systems with mobile access options.

Of those surveyed, 43 percent either experienced a break-in or know someone who has. “With some of our products, we can pull an audit trail of who entered that apartment and know if someone used a fob to get in that shouldn't have,” Matheis said.

The information covered with this survey could be beneficial to a variety of companies in the industry. “There's a whole host of various security companies or integrators out there,” Gaulden said. He highlighted companies that service home automation markets, multi-family markets or light-commercial markets, adding that Allegion is trying to inform integrators about how its solutions can help with consumers' concerns.

Allegion has worked with Wakefield Research previously, surveying millennials about their thoughts on key systems and mobile access. “We got some great results from that one as well,” Matheis said.

“We do these surveys quarterly, just to look into different angles and insights into what consumers are thinking and what our end users are thinking, to make sure that we're developing the right solutions and the right products to really solve a lot of those pain points,” said Matheis.