A Luke-Warm Reception: Why Consumers Aren’t Overly Excited by Smart Thermostats.

Technological advances have led to new offerings in home heating systems and to a market that is becoming saturated with variants of “smart” thermostats. But does this seemingly growing market have a growing audience? In this talk I will present quantitative and qualitative data from a large scale survey (N=1007) that investigates the appeal of smart thermostats to prospective consumers. Findings from the survey indicate confusion about what “smart” means and a general apathy for smart thermostats. Survey respondents expressed displeasure towards the idea of “technology for technology’s sake” and were reluctant to part with cash for something they failed to see the benefit of. Given this luke-warm reception I conclude by using insights from the data to derive marketing strategies that may prove effective in bolstering the allure of smart thermostats.