Buoyant Real Estate Market Spurs Demand for Smart Home Devices Across the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa

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• Sheila Manek  Email: smanek@idc.com  Phone number: +971 4 446 3154

Dubai – The Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa (META) smart home device market saw shipments increase 1.4% quarter on quarter in Q1 2023 to total 8.56 million units. That's according to the latest insights from International Data Corporation (IDC), with the firm's newly updated Worldwide Quarterly Smart Home Device Tracker showing a mixed performance across different product categories.

The market's growth was primarily spurred by home monitoring / security and lighting devices, with shipments up 8.9% on the previous quarter. On the other hand, the entertainment category — which includes devices such as smart speakers and set-top boxes — saw shipments decline 9.2% over the same period.

"The region's real estate market has been quite robust, particularly in the UAE and the rest of the Gulf countries," says Isaac T. Ngatia, a senior research analyst at IDC. "End users are increasingly installing some form of smart devices in their homes — even if it's just relatively simple devices like smart bulbs. At the same time, the TV category has matured to the point that most vendors are now only shipping smart TVs by default. However, the challenging economic conditions are still having an impact on overall spending, with a decline in demand for low priority items.

"The market ecosystem continues to expand across the META region, helping to raise overall awareness about smart home devices. Such devices are also now more widely available across a greater variety of channels throughout the region. For example, some telecom operators now offer smart/connected living devices as part of their home subscription packages."

While the META region's smart home device market is currently going through a slow growth phase — as is the case with most other technology devices — IDC expects the market to accelerate by the end of the year. The establishment of smart home devices as a key ingredient for smart living will support the growth of this category. Market enablers such as embedded AI capabilities, improved connectivity, regulatory policies, and developments around smart cities and sustainability have been driving the market's momentum, and this is only expected to accelerate as the macroeconomic environment improves over the coming quarters.

"Over time, the META region has seen great improvements in connectivity, which is a key enabler driving the adoption of smart home devices," says Ngatia. "More than 60 of the 70 countries that IDC covers across the region now have 4G connectivity. And around 20 are already in the process of rolling out 5G."

The region continues to see an increasing influx of smart home device vendors battling to grab share in the overall market. Some of the leading brands in the region include Amazon, Anker, Apple, BenQ, Bose, D-link, Eufy, Google, Honeywell, Huawei, IKEA, iRobot, LG Electronics, Nest, Ring, Ring, Samsung, TCL, TP Link, Xiaomi, and Yale, among others.

IDC tracks various categories of smart home devices — including smart appliances, smart home monitoring / security devices, smart lighting, smart speakers, smart thermostats, and smart video entertainment — and defines smart home devices as network endpoints that are primarily designed for home use via network connectivity. The devices can use Internet Protocol (IP) or other networking protocols (IP-adjacent) like Bluetooth, ZigBee, Z-Wave, Thread, etc.

To learn more about IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Smart Home Device Tracker, please contact Sheila Manek at smanek@idc.com or on +971 4 446 3154

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,300 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology, IT benchmarking and sourcing, and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading tech media, data, and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights.

IDC in the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa

For the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa region, IDC retains a coordinated network of offices in Riyadh, Nairobi, Lagos, Johannesburg, Cairo, and Istanbul, with a regional center in Dubai. Our coverage couples local insights with international perspectives to provide a comprehensive understanding of markets in these dynamic regions. Our market intelligence services are unparalleled in depth, consistency, scope, and accuracy. IDC Middle East and Africa currently fields over 130 analysts, consultants, and conference associates across the region. To learn more about IDC MEA, please visit www.idc.com/mea. You can follow IDC MEA on Twitter at @IDCMEA.

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