This is a great time to be in the business of selling home automation systems, with sales of connected devices growing every year. Just about every report or study shows continued growth in the sale of smart home devices over the last few years and forecasted growth over the years to come. Just one example, a report from Market Research Future, forecasts the smart home market to reach USD $254.78 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 12.3 percent.
It is certainly a great time to be in the smart home sales business in general, but also in the smart automated shades business in particular. According to a 2021 Persistence Market Research report, “the automated blinds and shades market grew at around 3 percent CAGR over the last year, and this growth is expected to accelerate to around 3. percent% through 2031.”
Who is buying these devices and why? What follows is an overview of the people who are driving the growth of the automated shade market — six types of people who would be ideal candidates for dealers to target when selling smart, connected automated shades.
1. People who crave convenience (and who doesn’t?)
I’m starting off here with the biggest category of all because it includes just about everyone. Studies show that convenience is most often a primary driver for purchasing smart home devices, be it video cameras, lighting, thermostats, or automated shades. For example, a 2020 MarketingCharts.com survey found that the top reason for buying a smart home device was, “I want products in my home that allow for a more convenient living experience.”
When selling automated shades, no matter who the target market is, it makes sense to focus on the convenience-enhancing benefits of these devices. People love having control of their automated shades at their fingertips — what could be more convenient than rolling over in bed, or on your poolside lounger, and raising or lowering your shades using your phone? (Some shades offer cloud connectivity, which lets the user control these devices from anywhere in the world.)
2. People who work from home
Nowadays, post the pandemic heyday, a huge number of people are enjoying the convenience and comfort of working from home. These same people are ideal candidates for appreciating the benefits of automated smart shades.
Many automated shades allow the user to set schedules to provide the desired sun and shade — and create the ideal work environment. Using a smartphone app or other remote control device, these shades can be programmed in advance to rise and lower at set times of day or night to provide the perfect lighting and temperature. Even Zoom calls can become more enjoyable when everyone is comfortable and seen in the best possible light.
Another one of the benefits of working from home is being able to sleep a little later and being able to avoid the rush hour commute. Some automated shades can be custom-designed and built to perfectly fit the window frame and are available in light-blocking fabrics — which means the home-office worker can sleep past sunrise and arrive at their office down the hall refreshed and ready to get things done.
Related: Finding the Right Shade Partner
3. People who take vacations
People who leave their homes for extended periods of time want to enjoy a vacation (or work trip) free of stress and worry. A smart automated shade can play a role in this stress reduction. Using your phone or tablet, the homeowner can open and shut the shades at various times to give the appearance that the home is occupied, even when they are far away. They can also keep the plants happy by letting the just the right amount of sunshine in at pre-set time of day. (This can be programmed to happen automatically without the need to use your tablet or smartphone.)
Related: Powershades Expands Fabric Offerings
4. People who love tech
There is a breed of gadget lover out there who is an ideal candidate not only for connected smart shades but also for all home automation devices. These (mostly) Gen-Y’ers or millennials stay on top of the weekly (or even daily) advances in home technology. They read the gadget blogs, subscribe to the technology pubs, and may already know the difference between PoE and Edgar Allen. They are waiting for you to help make their home a connected home replete with the latest advances in home gear — including connected, automated shades.
5. People who are style-conscious
These people want to live in a beautiful home that reflects their style and fulfills their vision. People focused on style love the clean, uncluttered look of automated shades. (If they are style-conscious parents or pet owners, they also love the fact that these shades have no pull-strings or dangling pieces that present a potential hazard to smaller home residents.)
Style mavens also appreciate the fact that many automated decorative shades are offered in an ever-growing array of sheer, semi-sheer, and even blackout fabrics. In fact, automated shade manufacturers can be a single resource for homeowners as well as style professionals like interior designers.
Related: The 411 on Selling Shades
6. People who want to lower their energy bills (along with their shades)
A simple task like opening the shades in winter and closing them in summer can result in greatly reduced energy consumption. When automated shades are raised and lowered according to the user’s custom schedule, the result can be passive energy savings — as much as 30 percent.
So, who are ideal candidates for buying automated shades? This article has shed some light on some of them, but the list of people who can benefit from smart automated shades is growing longer every day.
