Liam La Cumbre, Exertis, commercial director said, “As the leading distributor of brands in the Smart Tech market, we are able to provide an insightful representation of how the market is performing in terms of growth, category expansion and new routes to market”. Sales of smart security products represent almost half of the total market value, with 35% growth YTD. Smart heating and cooling also grew by more than 47%.
“We are seeing growth in all sales channels across the UK for Smart Tech product categories with e-tailers leading that growth. Exertis has a unique position having access to all major retail channels including the DIY / Trade establishments. We will continue to expand the channel offering to our business partners during 2019 with more market insight, product brands and sales support capabilities.”
“The demand for Smart Tech products is, and will be for the long term, a key driver of consumer spending with double digit growth driven by ease of connection and affordable products with tangible user benefits in convenience, security and safety as well as the fun element of smart innovations,” added La Cumbre.
The market has also benefited from the growth of the smart speaker market which according to eMarketer grew by 98.6% in 2018 with 9.5 million smart speaker users accounting for 14.4% penetration of the UK. The research company forecasts that the number of smart speakers will grow by almost a third in 2019, after doubling this year.