According to the “Internet of Things Observatory” (School of Management Polytechnic of Milan), the arrival of the Over The Top companies in Italy with the smart home speakers Google Home and Amazon Echo revolutionized the connected home market, which reached a value of 380 million euros in 2018, up 52% compared to 2017. The Italian market of the solutions for the smart home grows very rapidly, with a pace comparable or even higher than that of the main European countries. In absolute terms, however, Italy is placed before only Spain (300 million euros, +59%), while the gap is still wide with Germany (1.8 billion, + 39%), United Kingdom (1,7 billion, +39%) and France (800 million, +47%). The largest market share is relative to the security solutions (130 million euros, equal to 35% of the market). In the second place there are the smart home speakers, which generated sales for 60 million euros (16% of the market) and have directly or indirectly driven the overall growth. The sales of household appliances are slightly lower, equal to 55 million euros and 14% of the total: the washing machines stand out (connected, controllable via App and in some cases also equipped with voice assistant), continuing to drive the sector sales. The offer is widening (for some producers more than half of the range is already connected), but the use of smart features is a habit only for 25% of users who own a connected appliance (up from 15% in 2017). Connected boilers, thermostats and air conditioners for heating and air conditioning management account for 12% of the market (about 45 million euro), with a growth due to the increasing integration with voice assistants and the possibility for the consumer to obtain important benefits in terms of energy saving and comfort. Among the remaining solutions stand out (with a growth by +50%) the devices for the lighting management (connected light bulbs).
