Brick-and-Mortar Stores Have Early Advantage in Driving Smart Home Space, Says Parks
Brick-and-mortar retailers have an advantage in the nascent smart home market, which is expected to sell more than 8 million devices through retail and related channels by 2021, blogged Parks Associates analyst Brad Russell Wednesday. Physical retailers are leveraging their…
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positions as trusted advisers for consumers and lowering the barrier to entry by offering services at no cost, said Russell. The trend is influencing Amazon and Google, which formed partnerships with retailers to expand smart home visibility through point-of-sale displays, experience centers and a growing share of shelf space. Best Buy recently added demo space for Amazon Alexa and Google Home products in nearly 700 U.S. stores; Amazon widened its sales reach through partnerships with Kohl's, Sears, Best Buy and its own Whole Foods stores; and Google connected with Walmart through Google Express for fulfillment. Lowe’s -- after a successful pilot of its partnership with b8ta -- is expanding its “Smart Home powered by b8ta” shopping experience to 70 stores nationwide, where consumers can audition and get support for a variety of smart home technologies, Russell said. The program’s “innovative retail-as-a-service offering leverages data-driven customer insights to streamline the education and purchase process while giving manufacturers valuable data for future merchandising efforts,” he said, noting b8ta has opened stores of its own in eight U.S. cities. "These moves will blur the lines between online and offline retail," Russell said, and consumers will expect access to product information and products “anytime, anywhere.” At this early stage, “it remains to be seen whether these partnerships are mutually beneficial or more lopsided than intended,” Russell said.