An exploratory study on consumer’s needs on smart home in Korea

Abstract

In the middle of transformation to IoT society, interests on smart home services are increasing. While the needs on smart home can be different by culture and lifestyle, there are only a few studies on smart home user experiences in Korean situation. Six focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted and the main findings were as follows; first of all, whereas smart home is still new concept for general consumers and IoT is felt rather far from their everyday lives, smart home services with tangible benefits were acceptable. In addition, the adoption of smart home is related with user’s lifestyle. However, concerns on customer care and privacy are critical barriers for its adoption. In the new era of IoT, it is important to understand consumer’s attitudes and experiences towards smart home services. The service providers are encouraged to plan and develop the user oriented services and marketing communications.