Why Matter Matters

Over the years, groups of smart home companies have come together to develop standards and protocols to help their devices work together to help consumers who have wanted a simple, easy way to shop for devices to add to their smart homes. There have been success stories, but none can boast the promise and the lineup of brands supporting the Matter initiative.

“As the average number of connected devices in the home continues to increase (15.5 in 2022), Matter's importance to a seamless connected home experience will continue to grow.”

The next phase is for companies to get their devices tested and certified to bear the Matter mark. Because of the emphasis on security and the desire to ensure that the Matter mark will not find its way to devices that don't work as promised, the manufacturers will need to maneuver through the processes required for product attestation and having a certificate of authority issued. There are already rumors and concerns that the costs of the testing and certifications and the relatively small number of providers will be a barrier to the companies that aren't fully committed.

A standard like the one Matter aims to achieve would benefit smart home consumers immensely. For one, users will be less constrained by device brand when coordinating multiple smart devices to work together. As the average number of connected devices in the home continues to increase (15.5 in 2022), Matter's importance to a seamless connected home experience will continue to grow. Currently, 37% of Internet households own a smart home device according to Parks Associates consumer survey work of 10,000 Internet households.

Consumers desire a simple, unified application experience that works for various products across various brands. After being shown a brief explanation of Matter, Parks Associates consumer data indicates that 68% of smart home device owners, or intended owners, say that Matter certification is important in choosing which smart home device to buy.

While some companies struggle with the pros and cons of jumping on board, others are moving forward. Before holiday shopping is complete, we expect plenty of announcements for device launches with Matter functionality.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chris White is Director, Smart Home and Energy Research, Parks Associates. He has more than 9 years of experience in market research and customer experience research. For more information, please email [email protected] or visit www.ParksAssociates.com. Follow Chris on Twitter @CWhiteInsights. Follow Parks Associates on Twitter @ParksAssociates and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parksassociates/.