According to the findings, Ring and Simplisafe now account for one-fifth of the professional monitoring market for systems, as both companies have steadily added subscribers since 2019. New options are emerging for consumers; for example, in 2023, Residential Security Dashboard started tracking Noonlight, which provides monitoring services for Wyze, Canary, Roku, and Eufy products. The Dashboard tracks adoption and consumer attitudes for all emerging and established solutions through quarterly consumer surveys of 8,000 US internet households, and the service provides visualisation of the most important metrics to inform the strategic decision making of companies across the residential security market.

“Consumers continue to buy security solutions, but the growth is coming from security devices, where households buy a networked camera and/or a video doorbell, rather than a traditional security system,” said Elizabeth Parks, President & CEO, Parks Associates. “Systems still dominate, but 13% of US internet households — or more than 15 million households — own just a smart camera or video doorbell and use that as the safety and security solution for their home.”

These devices support security services that generate recurring monthly revenue, and the increase in paid services to the video device is following the increase in ownership of devices. At the same time, the amount from paid security services attached to a security system dropped in the second half of 2023.

To remain competitive, traditional security system providers need to prove the value of their systems and attached services. Providers are pivoting towards aggressive marketing, competitive pricing strategies, and the creation of new value propositions in lifestyle services to regain market share.

“Security providers are in a great position to serve the consumer with professional monitored services, which can capture a variety of use cases in security, health, and energy,” Parks said. “The value in the future will come from a combination of services and applications providing and expanding on peace-of-mind services.”

Consumer Insights Dashboards present survey-based consumer research that tracks foundational market metrics, such as product or service adoption, household spending intentions, and churn:

• 60% of US households with self-monitoring believe it keeps them just as safe as professional monitoring.

• Consumers are buying more from national providers and significantly less from the local home security companies.

• NPS for system-based security service providers declined slightly at year-end 2023.

Parks Associates is also hosting a Dealer Day at Connections in May, inviting dealers, integrators, and installers to join the premier connected home conference for a day of networking and discussion on the next generation of home services.