Toluna surveys technology interests of U.S. consumers

Consumers Increase Adoption of Smart Home Devices, Interest in New Tech for Entertainment Purposes

WILTON, Conn. — Toluna, leading provider of consumer insights on-demand, today released new research on consumer electronics and technology trends ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019 in Las Vegas, NV taking place between Jan 8 – 11. Using Toluna’s QuickSurveys platform, we studied US consumer adoption, purchase intent, and tech-influenced trends heading into the New Year. Findings highlight the importance of consumer insights for brands and businesses when thinking about new product launches and novel marketing applications for emerging technologies.

Toluna’s findings include:

Adoption of technology by consumers

• Speech recognition / voice search has been adopted by the largest segment of consumers, with 24% of respondents saying they own this type of technology.
• Smart home devices or IoT connected devices follow suit, along with wearable technology devices, both purchased by 22% of consumers.
• Virtual reality (VR) and/or augmented reality (AR), facial recognition technology, smart or foldable displays, and interactive devices trail behind, with 10-14% of consumers having adopted them.

Purchase Intent for new technologies

• Smart home devices or IoT connected devices is the leading category of consumer technology, with 27% of consumers planning to purchase these products within the next six months.
• Wearable technology devices is the next leading category, with 24% of consumers reporting they plan to purchase these products within the same period.
• VR and/or AR is the third most popular category with 22% of consumers with plans to purchase these types of technologies in the same term.

Tech-influenced trends

• Entertainment is the main interest for new technologies: 43% of consumers said they plan to purchase new technologies for this purpose, followed by automating tasks with 26%, tracking and measuring behavioral data with 23%, then sharing on social media with 18%, and lastly receiving more personalized ads with 12%.
• Paid advertising in smart speakers is not a deal-breaker for most consumers : 19% said they would be more willing to use smart speakers if that were the case, while 23% said it wouldn’t affect their behavior, and 16% said they didn’t know or were unsure.
• Sleep technology is a viable and emerging tech category: 22% of respondents said they would be interested in purchasing products under this category, compared to 17% who said sports tech and 14% who said baby tech.

As a company focused heavily on technology and its role in how brands engage and communicate with consumers, Jay Rampuria, EVP, Global Business & Corporate Development, and Phil Ahad, EVP, Head of Products and Strategy will be on the ground at CES as part of the Consumer Technology Association, in order to support Toluna’s clients and connect with fellow industry leaders.