Home security concerns on the rise, study shows

DALLAS—A new whitepaper from Parks Associates, produced in partnership with Xfinity Home, reveals 27 percent of U.S. broadband households report far more concern now about the physical security of home than five years ago. That number rises to 43 percent among households with children.

“The uncertainty caused by the pandemic has heightened consumer anxiety about the safety and security of their families and homes and expanded the volume and type of consumers searching for safety-related home solutions,” said Elizabeth Parks, President, Parks Associates. “Smart home and security device adoption is also rising in broadband households, and consumers are embracing standalone devices and DIY home security solutions. Smart home security devices like networked cameras and smart doorbells have grown to over 10% adoption across all broadband households as of 2021.”

The whitepaper, Home Security: Choice is the Ultimate Value Proposition, explores the market trends specific to the role of the broadband service provider in providing consumers the ultimate value through choice of installation and services for home automation and residential security.

DIY-installed security systems, like Ring Alarm, SimpliSafe and Abode, and DIY offerings from national brands such as Comcast and ADT, have expanded consumer familiarity with the category.

The researchers noted that there are signs that, as the U.S. comes out of the pandemic, adoption of smart home devices will ramp up, with more than 40 percent of US broadband households planning to buy at least one device in the next six months.

“A growing number of consumers are seeking affordable, easy-to-install solutions to protect their homes,” said Raman Sidhu, VP Product, Xfinity Home and Connectivity, Comcast. “It is critical for the home automation and security industry to simplify the process, delivering customers flexible DIY offerings, while also providing the requisite support for those customers that want a professional install experience. The research and insights from Parks Associates further highlight the potential value the broadband industry can deliver in helping customers protect the people and places they care about the most.”

New installation and monitoring offerings have expanded options for consumers. Smart home devices and DIY security systems have disrupted the notion that professional monitoring is "needed" to provide adequate safety and security.  While home security systems make consumers feel most secure, almost half of all broadband households surveyed find smart home security devices make them feel “safe enough.”

“Security providers across the spectrum, and ISPs in particular, have a big opportunity to attract customers and drive revenues by offering the consumer choice in installation, monitoring, support, system configuration, smart device attachment, contract length, and the ability to append additional network-related services to meet their personalized household needs,” Parks said.