A new study has analysed Google searches to discover the UK’s smartest city when it comes to smart tech adoption.
The interactive study, carried out by UK tech retailer Currys, analysed search volumes for various types of smart tech adoption across the country.
Over the past decade, there has been a huge increase in the adoption of smart tech across various industries. Its integration into our homes and everyday lives is now common practice, from the security of our properties to tracking our daily fitness – there is smart technology for everything.
How was the study carried out?
Currys assessed 34 cities across the UK against five different categories of smart tech adoption.
Using the Google Ads API, they analysed each of the cities against relevant keywords for those categories over the last 12 months of accumulated data.
Then, the results were weighed against the cities’ population and scored out of ten.
The UK’s 10 smartest locations
Based on factors such as smart security, smart energy, and smart fitness, the ten most tech-savvy locations were:
- Gateshead;
- Bolton;
- Wakefield;
- Salford;
- Brighton;
- Burnley;
- Portsmouth;
- Oldham;
- Newcastle upon Tyne; and
- Edinburgh.
Some of these cities scored perfectly in different categories. For example, Gateshead scored ten out of ten in smart energy, while Newcastle earned a perfect score in smart fitness.
Gateshead: The smart tech capital of the UK
As the leading city for smart tech adoption, Gateshead scored the highest for smart energy device searches (which included smart thermostats, radiator valves, and smart lighting) per 1000 residents.
Moreover, it scored highly for smart connectivity searches, including smart home Wi-Fi systems, smart remotes, and smart voice control. In this area, Gateshead scored 28.2 out of 50.
Other cities advancing smart tech adoption
In second place, Bolton earned a total score of 25.6. The area gained high scores in smart connectivity and smart fitness, which includes smart watches and sleeping monitors.
The top smart tech products searched for in Bolton included:
- Smart radiator valves;
- Smart window sensors;
- Streaming sticks;
- Apple watches; and
- Amazon Alexa.
The third smartest location, Wakefield, earned an overall score of 23.3. The top products searched for in this area were:
- Smart thermostats;
- Smart doorbells;
- Streaming sticks;
- Apple watches; and
- Google Home.
