COVID-19 pandemic halts double-digit growth of smart home devices in Europe, says IDC

LONDON — In the first quarter of 2020, the smart home market grew 3.8% compared with the same quarter of the previous year, according to research by International Data Corporation (IDC). The market reached more that 22 million units in the three-month period.

"We saw different trends across all the smart home categories," said Antonio Arantes, senior research analyst for smart home devices in Western Europe. "Smart speakers continued their good performance and smart displays posted triple-digit growth due to sales of new models and brands available in the space since the previous year."

"In contrast to smart speakers, smart TVs declined in 1Q20 due to supply issues," said Jan Prenosil, senior research analyst for smart home devices in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). "As smart TVs have the biggest share in CEE, the overall market in the region declined by 0.3% in shipments year over year. ".

"Digital media adapters, however, recorded continued growth due to increased demand thanks to the 'lockdown effect.' Streaming platforms are releasing interesting content offers, price offers for new customers, and local-language translation for more and more content."

In 2024, the smart home market in Europe is expected to reach 200 million units, with a 2020–2024 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.15%.

"We expect the temporary decline in smart TVs to continue due to the continued constraints on the supply side, as there is a lack of displays on the global market," said Prenosil.

According to Arantes, "On one hand, in 2020 and mainly during the lockdown, smart TVs and home monitoring and security are categories are going to suffer more. On the other hand, we expect categories such as small appliances, smart speakers, and digital media adapters to continue the positive trend that they were having, though growth will not be the same as expected six months ago."

Category Highlights

In the first quarter of the year, video entertainment device shipments reached 12.4 million units, down 2.5% on the same period in 2019. FireOS smart TVs were launched for the first time in Germany and Austria. This product category is expected to reach almost 80 million devices in 2024.

Smart speakers grew 17.4% year over year, accounting for 3.9 million units in 1Q20. Smart displays have been a stellar product in the category.

Lighting, home security monitoring , and thermostats shipped more than 4.8 million units in the first quarter of the year, for growth of 9% year over year. The three categories combined are expected to account for 31.6% of the smart home market in 2024.