Oh I didn't even think of that. Eliminate the switch and use a smart OUTLET. So many options 
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I think part of what they want is to use a pico instead of a switch otherwise I agree with you! Also have to be careful what kind of load you are expecting - lights okay, heavy equipment/fans/heaters probably not.
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Correct. The in-wall relays I’ve seen are limited to 5A or 10A load.
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That should still be fine for normal house fans, right? Most consume no more than 1 amp.
Well Zooz does not recommend their switches be used with fans - something about the motor loads damaging the switches over time.. this may have changed a bit for the newer switches and/or fans under a certain limit dunno.
https://thesmartesthouse.happyfox.com/kb/article/90-can-i-use-my-zooz-light-switch-with-a-fan/
In the past I've used GE Enbrightens for this purpose.
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HATE those tiny boxes which tend to be metal and have dry-rotting cloth wrapped wiring for extra fun.. 
edit: thanks for the size comparisons though!!!! I missed that post.
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Could this be useful to you?
I just ordered one for a project to install lighting inside a closet that does not have a pre-existing switch, or anything else.
SONOFF BASICZBR3 Zigbee Smart Switch, Zigbee Home Smart Controller, Compatible with Amazon Alexa, Works with SmartThings
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088SZNGSY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Looks like it might. Have to make sure it fits. Old building, small boxes.
Check the INDUCTIVE load rating on any switch that will control a motor. It's not just the amps.....
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The smallest out there are the Qubino Flush relays. They are both the same size. The Flush 1 has a single 10A relay. The Flush 2 has two 4A relays. Here's the size:
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We had a lot of switches in the house that controlled single outlets somewhere else in the room which ended up being an outlet we didn't need switched or wanted the switch to control other devices, so most of the time I just replaced the switch with a smart switch, tied all of the hot wires together for the switch, switched outlet and then tied the common wires for the switch and the switched outlet together, and then capped off the load wire on the smart switch--so it didn't actually physically switch anything and just got mains power, and then the outlet was always hot.
From that point I just used other plug-in outlet relays and had the switch control those wirelessly. In some cases where there was a single switch, I did this, but replaced with switch with a multi-button scene controller, and then had those buttons turn on and off different devices throughout the room.
You might be able to do this without having to have another relay behind your existing switch, and just replace the switch altogether perhaps. The load could be plugged into a plug-in outlet relay, and controlled that way.
Then you could also have remote switches elsewhere interact with the same load device whether they be battery operated, or other wired remote switches.
I'm not sure if that helps at all, but I hope so 
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That's why I think removing the dumb switch and replacing the dumb outlet/receptacle with a smart one is the way to go unless I've missed something.
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Haven't missed a thing. Leaving the outlet permanently hot, will permit the use of a smart receptacle. And provide the space needed to mount a Pico .....
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Another perspective. If you have anyone else in the house, it's all fun and games till stuff stops working. I prefer , if at all possible, to leave some remnants of manual control, cuz when the automation fails(and it will fail), having a manual switch backup is priceless. If it was just me, and an automation fails, no big deal. The wife & kids are another story. The aeotec mini or micro relays are great. I have the older non plus Z-wave versions, and they are rock solid, 4 years in. And when the automation fails, I just hit the switch.
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I have two G2's left after ?6? years.. They are still working as well. Am on the fence as to whether I should replace them or not. They are not ZW+ so that is one factor. The other is I now have a bunch of smart switches installed so the "always centered" behavior is now a known thing in our house.
There are also Zigbee controllers out there - I am using an older model of RGBGenie's in wall/lamp microcontrollers in 2 of our downstairs closet lights.. they have been working great too.
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This is a good point. There isn’t a smart device platform in the world that can match the 100.00% reliability people have come to expect with a physical light switch (except maybe Lutron).
When there are others in the house, tread lightly when you consider messing with that basic assumption! (ask me how I know that 
)
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In a remodel/new-build situation I wonder how much the Electrical Code is holding back the potential cost/labor savings in not having to run "switch legs" and "switch controlled outlets" of yesteryear in a Smart Home.
It's not hard to envision a WHOLE LOTTA wire, wall boxes, and switches not having to go where they might have had to go before to satisfy the lowest common denominator wiring layout.
In other words... when will, or has, "Smart Stuff" preclude wiring a home like somebody might someday take it all out and need things ...."wired like it's 1999".
EDIT: For the sake of argument and future-talk; one could suggest that some significant % of the wiring complexity, routing, and terminations could be saved/simplified in a Smart Home even while we know the communication challenges and single point-of-failure complexities increase. But...there are other trade offs, including operational safety, to having less physical wiring, fewer terminations (switches etc.). What if you could lay things out so that there was Redundancy in the Smarts so that while there might be more vulnerable single-points-of-failure those points were more robust (and could afford to be because they replaced X wired switch runs).
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Hasn’t the NEC changed over time to account for increased use of smart devices?
Increased requirements for neutral wiring in switch boxes, for example.
If you’re remodeling now, what does the current NEC require re: switched outlets?
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Hasn't code now changed to now require neutrals in a gang boxes? I think this is specifically for smart switches / low voltage gizmos..
What's less clear to me is low voltage distribution systems and safely running things in the bays behind the walls.
edit: ninja'd by @marktheknife !!!!
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