Strategy Analytics says that global IoT revenues will reach $320 billion by 2022, and that there will be 33 billion Internet-connected devices by 2020.
For the potential of IoT to become a reality, though, it needs to be accepted by the people who will be the everyday users of the future. With that in mind the analyst firm has been researching consumer attitudes to the IoT in the UK and US, It has examined awareness and interest in IoT as well as drivers for and barriers to adoption.
The report, Consumer Perspectives on the Internet of Things, looks at specific use case scenarios for the IoT in a number of sectors including automotive, wearables, health and wellbeing, home, retail, city and robotics and human/machine interfaces.
Data privacy and security concerns were identified as a significant barrier to adoption with around 80 percent of consumers surveyed having strong concerns around who actually harvests their information and how and what it will be used for.
Other concerns identified in the research were stability, accuracy, and reliability of IoT implementations. Consumers also had concerns about solutions not working seamlessly with other devices, and about cost outweighing any benefits.
Overall, the Strategy Analytics research concluded that if IoT solutions are to be adopted by consumers in the US and the UK they need to demonstrate long-term savings over short-term spend, simple, easy-to-use interfaces and systems which allow seamless interactions among all devices owned.
These concerns and a generally low level of consumer awareness sit alongside a high degree of interest in solutions that solve real world problems, learn users’ behaviour and preferences and make life easier and more efficient. Nearly half of those surveyed felt that IoT could have benefits for their personal health and well-being.
Report author and associated director of the media and services UX (MSX) group at Strategy Analytics, Christopher Dodge, said: “For IoT solutions to be widely adopted, consumers must trust these technologies explicitly; solutions must be compatible for control across all platforms; and full customization should be available to ensure that the user feels like they are in control of their experience and importantly, their own data.”