Data from the Internet of Things Observatory (Polytechnic University in Milan) show that in 2024 the Italian smart home market grew at double digits. It reached 900 million euros, +11% compared to 2023. This is a good result, if compared to Europe, where an average growth of +6.5% was observed in the first six months of 2024. However, per capita spending in Italy is still about half of the European average (15.5 euros per inhabitant, compared to 32.5).
Smart appliances are about a fifth of the market
In 2024 security solutions continued to drive the market, with 250 million euros (28% of the total value, +28% compared to 2023). Smart appliances follow with 179 million euros (19% of the value) and a significant growth (+13%). The main innovations concern new services enabled by data collected by connected devices and AI algorithms. For example, energy suppliers and manufacturers formed partnerships to use appliances when energy is cheaper: the cost of energy is varied according to actual demand levels and appliances can be activated when energy is cheapest.
On the other hand, the market for energy saving smart devices is slowing down. It is worth 141 million euros (16% of the total value, -5%). This is the category that has been most affected by the reduction of the incentives. Despite the decline, there are positive signs: users increasingly focus on reducing consumption, due to both the increase in energy costs and growing environmental awareness. 32% of consumers would like to activate consumption management services and, of these, 71% would be willing to spend money on activating them.
Smart speakers are also in slight decline, with sales totaling 125 million euros (14% of the market, -4% compared to 2023). A renewed interest in these products may come from the new features enabled by GenAI that will allow more intuitive interactions with voice assistants.
Consumers are increasingly familiar with the smart home
The Observatory data show that 69% of Italian consumers are now familiar with the smart home (+10% vs. 2023). 59% own smart objects and 41% have connected them to their home internet (+3%). Looking at consumer expectations for the future, the percentage of users interested in purchasing new connected devices for the home is high (32%, +2% vs. 2023).
In addition, the use of apps to manage the smart home is increasing considerably (+18% vs. 2023). Interaction has become not only more widespread but also more frequent: 87% of consumers use apps at least 1-2 times a week (72% every day), 10% at least once a month, while only 3% use them less often.
Technologies for interoperability
The evolution of the Matter protocol continues. Since its debut in October 2022, it has represented a milestone for interoperability in the smart home. However, the road is still uphill.
“The latest version – explains Antonio Capone, Scientific responsible of the Internet of Things Observatory – brings significant innovations, further expanding the potential of the standard, with increasing attention to energy efficiency. However, the protocol still faces some technical and ecosystemic challenges that slow down its diffusion: among these, the limited descriptive capacity, the high hardware requirements, the preference for legacy ecosystems by some manufacturers and the complexity in adding devices to the network. Despite this, the innovations introduced are progressively reducing the fragmentation of the ecosystem, contributing to the overall maturation of the standard”.
