From self-stocking fridges to toothbrushes that monitor how you brush your teeth, everyday objects are increasingly being brought to life to apparently make our lives easier. But is the Internet of Things (IoT) anything more than an over-hyped gimmick? Either way, it would seem that we’re excited – both in the UK and across the pond – with a new study revealing that 83% of UK women will “embrace” connected technology and actively use it in daily life.
The survey, carried out by Toluna, questioned a sample of 1,000 UK consumers to find that almost three-fifths (58%) said they are either “very excited” or “quite excited” by the new technology and nearly half (45%) were “enthused” by the prospect of saving time.
Interestingly, women were found to be more excited by connected technology than men, with two in five (41%) believing it will help them organise their lives, and a third (34%) feeling it will prevent them forgetting things.
The study revealed that substantially more UK women than men would use the IoT for healthcare (44% and 32%, respectively); furthermore, more women than men would use the IoT to boost fitness – monitoring workouts and consumption, as well as sleep patterns (36% and 25%, respectively).
Over half of all UK consumers (51%) regardless of age, gender or income bracket, said that they would like to see connected household appliances taking control of the day-to-day chores – such as fridges that inform consumers when groceries are running low. The adoption rate was similar in the US (49%).
Home security was cited as a popular feature with over half of UK consumers (52%) claiming they would install a connected security system in their home, if cost were not a factor.
Interestingly, men (55%) place more importance on this than women (49%); however, the opposite trend was found in the US where 56% of women would use IoT technology for security, compared to 53% of men.
However, despite willingness to embrace new connected technology, nearly two thirds of British women (65%) have concerns about its reliability, with half being particularly concerned about the ease of replacing a lost or damaged keypad.
Nearly nine out of ten British women raised concerns about security, with 87% fearful that hackers would access their personal data. The figure was the same in the US.
“Life-enhancing technological advances introduce many benefits and opportunities for consumers, but they also raise concerns,” said Paul Twite, managing director, UK, Toluna.
“It has been interesting to discover that women in the UK can better appreciate the lifestyle benefits of connected living technology and are keen to take advantage of them, although it is clear that consumers, in general, have concerns about privacy and reliability. This is something that technology developers should take on board as a priority.”
