Around 26% of the €225 billion Europeans spent in 2019 on Technical Consumer Goods is going for smart appliances such as cameras, air treatment, TVs, audio systems, robotic vacuum cleaners and smart LEDs, GfK reports.
In total, GfK predicts the smart device (excluding smartphones and smartwatches) market will increase by 9% in 2019, from €122bn in 2018 to €133bn. Smart home technology is changing at an "unprecedented" pace over the past decades, and it is not over. For instance, smart TVs account for 80% of TVs sold in Germany, UK, France, Italy and Spain in 2019, while robot vacuum cleaners make 12%. Around 4% of dishwashers sold also have some measure of smarts.
However, while the smart home dream resonates with consumers, the present reality is one of a collection of isolated smart devices. Despite 42% growth in smart appliance and H1 2019 revenue growth of 25% for smart energy and lighting, the largest smart category, smart entertainment and connectivity, accounts for €6.3bn turnover despite showing 0% Y-o-Y growth in H1 2019 in the 5 European markets (Germany, UK, France, Italy and Spain).