Word-of-mouth driving IoT adoption, as privacy concerns remain

The Internet of Things (IoT) has a large amount of momentum to start 2015, with 65 percent of American consumers reportedly moderately or extremely interested in adopting some type of smart home product, according to the Internet of Things Consortium (IoTC). There is great potential for manufacturers to sell these products to consumers, with 54 percent of consumers saying word-of-mouth is the largest consumer factor.

It is now up to manufacturers to make affordable, easy-to-use solutions, along with creating proper security protocols to keep customers safe. Constant connectivity could be a great asset, but not if customer data and privacy are at risk.

"This survey highlights that IoT is moving towards mass adoption, but that industry leaders must make their connected home solutions intuitive, simple and cost-effective to put into play," said Nate Williams, CMO of Greenwave Systems, in a press release. "Consumers don't really care how they manage their smart devices, but they want a frictionless experience - ideally with a solution that someone else installs for free - that saves them money and improves their quality of life over the long-term."

Wide adoption of smartphones and tablets will make controlling these smart features even easier, especially with apps and mobile functionality rolled out.