The internet of things, or IoT, is fast approaching. More and more everyday household appliances are being upgraded to their smart versions. Each individual piece of furniture in the home is going to be able to record data of some description. So, when we have our fridges recording when they were opened, and our microwaves and cookers remembering when they are turned on, and for how long, and so on and so forth, we will actually be able to map our household movements.

Couple this with digital personal assistants, which can be set to record everything, and this map becomes more and more accurate, to the point where, by no other means that smart appliances, we can tell, to the minute, where someone was. According to the head of Scotland Yard’s forensics unit, this data could be used in a court of law to provide you with an alibi.

Now most uses of the IoT won’t be quite so dramatic. The interaction between say, a washing machine and an iron, rather than proving your innocence in the witness box, will have much more low key, yet valuable uses. An alarm on your washing machine telling you that is is time to do the ironing, in the form of a friendly message from a virtual PA, like Alexa or Siri, will be far more commonplace. And it is unlikely that all smart goods will have the capability to track your movements in the house. But, with the more expensive versions, webcams will become common, and as the technology gets cheaper, then there will come a time when even the most basic smart fridge is equipped with the ability to collect data on a scale that is reserved for only the highest end white goods of today.

With fewer and fewer areas of our home not being monitored, the internet of things will eventually fill the already dwindling gaps. This provides a huge opportunity for marketers. From a reminder to buy more milk to booking an appointment to have your cooker serviced, the amount of data collected, and thus the amount of useful information to the advertisers, will be vast.