In video interviews, consumers across the U.S. and Canada share in their own words what they think about key energy issues today

The Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) today released a new research project that illustrates consumers’ attitudes and values related to energy, smart home technology, their electricity providers and more amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The “Modern Customer Engagement Journey” research includes five videos and a topline report that were developed from more than 30 on-camera interviews recorded from June 15 to July 2 in the United States and Canada. These interviews focused on understanding the reasons behind consumers’ energy-related behaviors and decisions at home and their views on their electricity providers, renewable energy and other important issues.

Key insights from the interviews include:

• Consumers are increasingly engaged with energy-related products and technologies, and smart home products – particularly smart speakers, thermostats and lighting – feel particularly interesting.
• After purchasing a first smart home device, consumers often have an appetite for more. Introductory products tend to be smart speakers, and once consumers are comfortable setting these up, they want to take the next step.
• When consumers make appliance upgrades at home, energy efficiency is a key factor that they consider – along with smart capabilities. Moving is an important catalyst for reassessing devices and appliances.
• Consumers often struggle with assessing the cost-saving potential of programs and say they need more transparency on the savings from their electricity providers.

The five videos from the “Modern Customer Engagement Journey” research can be viewed on YouTube here, and a report highlighting the topline findings can be accessed here by SECC members and the public. Key findings and clips from the videos will be presented during a webinar on Thursday, October 8 at 1 p.m. (ET).