Resi market saturation?
By SSN Staff
Updated Sat August 1, 2009
YARMOUTH, Maine--For some time, conventional wisdom has put the market penetration rate for residential security at between 17 and 20 percent. Security Systems News polled readers to get their opinion.
Of the 62 votes cast, results were pretty even for whether you felt 17 to 20 percent residential market penetration was about right, too high, or too low. A little less than one third - or 19 votes - felt that 17 to 20 percent was about right. Of the remainder, a little more than one third thought the number was too high and a little more than one third thought it was too low, with 22 votes for the former and 21 votes for the latter.
One voter had this to say, “This has to be low. It was 20 percent back in the nineties. I know. I lived it. The mass-market alarm companies have penetrated the residential market ... I would guess (and it is a guess) that it is more like 40 percent. I'm making a living off of competitive takeovers. What does that tell you?” Disagreeing, another voter said, “It's about 10 to 12 percent.”
Is the percentage of homes with alarm systems on the rise in your footprint? Thirty-five percent said yes, 44 percent said no, and 21 percent said it was about the same.
One voter from Connecticut believes the heydey of alarm sales has passed. “I have seen the mass marketing of the '80s and '90s turn back into the affluent-only market of the last few years, and now very little of anything. The good times may be behind us.”
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