Almost a quarter of people in the UK now own a Smart Home product, new figures from Maplin have shown.

Consumers who bought Smart Home products spent an average of £174 on the technology in the last year. With 71 per cent of consumers considering buying their first or additional Smart Home products, the market in the UK has the potential to be worth more than £6 billion per year, according to the Maplin data.

The Maplin Smart Meter found that consumers view leaving the lights on (46 per cent) and forgetting to switch off plugs (37 per cent) to be the top bugbears in the home which can be solved with smart technology.

For those looking to buy smart technology in the next six months, smart hubs – the voice-activated devices which offer a central control for Smart Homes – are the most desirable products, sought after by 38 per cent of consumers.

The main reasons consumers want smart technology in their homes are: safety (56 per cent), followed by making their lives easier (53 per cent), and saving money (53 per cent). However, price was the main factor which could dissuade consumers from buying Smart Home technology (68 per cent).

Oliver Meakin, CEO of Maplin, said: “The Smart Home market is growing at an astonishing rate as consumers seek more connected homes. The convenience and peace of mind these products offer is proving popular.

With Silicon Valley’s tech giants launching competing entertainment products before the end of the year, smart hubs look set to become Christmas 2017’s must have tech gifts. If the current growth in demand for Smart Home products continues, they will soon become as common as smart phones.”

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