What Consumer Brands Can Learn From the Smart Home Shift Behavior

“Ok Google. Let’s start the day!”

You brush your teeth, take a bath, grab a bite, then go to work. These are probably the same things you do every day — on your workdays, at least. And believe it or not, you have already programmed your mind so you can do all these without much thinking. The same happens in all our routines — in our daily commute, at work, in our bedtime ritual, and so on.

In these programmed moments, we have also selected products and services that we think would help us thrive and be at our best every day. We know which coffee to take to get that much-needed energy boost, that shampoo to use daily to avoid any dandruff concerns or that deodorant brand that surely won’t stain your favorite shirt. In some ways, these products have been embedded within our routines to the point that when it is time for another purchase, we no longer think — we just buy.

While we might be living in a semi-automated world based on the environment and situation that we’re used to, disruption still comes into play as technologies penetrate these environments where we live in. This includes our homes.

The Smart Home Shift

The smart home is a concept that a lot of us are familiar with. Most of us may have already tinkered with devices that can make our home a smart home — smart lights, AI-powered air-conditioners, smart plugs, and more.

These devices are becoming easier to acquire with a lot of brands present in the market ranging from cheap, plug-and-play products like Xiaomi’s Mi Home line-up all the way up to customizable, construction-grade offers like the Control4 system.

As more and more of these devices penetrate our homes, the chances of shifting our routines increase as well. Apps and voice assistants can already perform mundane tasks and trigger automated actions based on the situation. With a tap of a button or one voice command, things simply work!

Typical morning routine made simple with voice command

ARH, so what?

Smart home automation and consumer purchase behavior may seem like two different worlds. However, we can find some similarities — and learnings — when we examine further. Let me introduce you to the concepts of Automation, Rhythm, and Habituation.

Automation

“If X, then Y.”

This is a basic feature of a smart home where a trigger leads to an action.

• If it’s 6:00pm, all lights in the garage turn on.
• If the temperature in the bedroom goes above 25 degrees celsius, the air-conditioner turns on.

The same concept applies to how we purchase goods.

• If I have dandruff, I will buy the same anti-dandruff shampoo that works for me.
• If my deodorant runs out, I will purchase the same no-stain brand to prevent me from sweating and avoid the risk of having armpit area stains on my clothes.

Rhythm

“Y happens. Always.”

We experience rhythm when automation delivers its promise all the time. In the case of the smart home, this means having a reliable system that enables us not to think about the tasks anymore and simply observe the results.

• At night, all the lights in the garage always turn on.
• Every time it becomes warm in the bedroom, the air-conditioner cools it down.

In the case of consumers’ behavior, we see this when products already become embedded within our routines because they simply work and deliver the expected results.

• My dandruff subsides very time I use my go-to anti-dandruff shampoo.
• My no-stain deodorant always prevents me from sweating and does not stain the armpit area of my clothes.

Habituation

“Y happens always. I’m used to it.”

This is the part where we become used to the effects of automation in our day-to-day living. This is when we go through our every day enjoying the benefits of a smart home — not thinking of the specific steps on how these were done.

• My garage is always well lit.
• The bedroom is always cool.

On consumer behavior, this is the point where we already formed the habit of always using the products we have always used since then. This is also when we already cling on to the same products and purchase them over and over again without thinking.

• I don’t get dandruff anymore.
• I don’t become sweaty and I do not get stains on the armpit area of my clothes.

At this point, we go on autopilot whenever we purchase our goods.

Eventually, our experience of ARH becomes a vicious cycle.

Automation creates rhythm. Rhythm creates habituation. Habitation leads back to (purchase) automation.

Now that we have seen how these two worlds are the same, it’s time for us to see how to leverage on the smart home shift to make brands and products relevant.

A Perfect Way In

Marketers would know how hard it is to ask a consumer to switch from their usual brand to a new one. This might mean investing a lot in advertising, creating irresistible price offs, and doing a h*ll lot of product sampling. But imagine being present at a point when your consumers are undergoing a renovation of their routines as they adapt to new technologies at home.

Let’s take a look at Amazon as an example.

In this example, Amazon merged the world of smart home automation together with its core service — shopping. By doing so, they have innovated the way consumers can purchase their favorite products and made brands more visible and relevant during this shift. This opens a door for brands to be noticed during the smart home shift.

As smart home technologies evolve, Amazon also innovated more to make their service and the products they carry more relevant to consumers. They introduced new ways for customers to order their favorite goods via a voice assistant and even an in-home scanner to make shopping easier.

Take Two Steps Forward

The smart home shift is a very interesting phenomenon because it’s at this time when people try to recreate their routines and open their minds to change to accommodate the ever-evolving technologies at home. It is when people break out of habits and reevaluate their choices on products and services whether these still fit into the smarter way of living that they are starting to build.

For consumer brands and marketers out there, where will you be as this shift happens? Maybe it’s time to take two steps forward to find out.

Concept originally presented in my talk in Unilever Philippines’ Digicon 2019. All illustrations done by me.