According to kitchen retail specialist Anuradha Singh, the kitchen is the most technology-intense project in the home. She believes technology will keep the customer, the seller and the manufacturer connected for years.
Anuradha is the retail business head with the Home Appliances Division of IFB Industries, where she manages the IFB Point network of 470 brand stores. Here’s why she believes the kitchen is the most technology-intense project.
As a retail professional who’s been enhancing customer experience at scale, how do you see technology impacting the lives of customers, particularly those who are buying and using kitchens?
I daresay the kitchen is the most technology-intense project that a customer would ever take up when it comes to home improvement. And even after the project is complete, its use is replete with technologies that are top-of-the-line.
Take the typical case of a customer setting out to buy a kitchen. She visits many home and kitchen solution brands, where she is invited to use AR and VR tools to visualise the perfect tone and colour that she needs. Design tools help with the space optimisation of her kitchen, while CRM tools capture her needs and requirements as she proceeds through various stages of the design. Finally, when she nails down the design and choice of gadgets, the CRM system will propose a payment and delivery schedule, right in time when the rest of the home interiors are getting completed.
Once the kitchen is in use, technology shows up in the intelligent appliances that help her manage time better. The camera in the refrigerator will tell what she needs to add to her grocery list, and the wi-fi-controlled oven will start cooking the lasagna before she gets home. The lights in the kitchen will adjust to the time of day, and on command, get brighter when her parents use the space for cooking and dining.
It doesn’t stop here! Technology is helping kitchen brands keep track of their customers and their entire journey, from being a lead to conversion, to the final delivery and post-sales services. As a kitchen industry professional, I am constantly interacting with architects, designers, customers and homeowners, who as global travellers are exposed to technology being used to make their homes and kitchens work best for them.
From a seller’s perspective, what are the top three purposes for which technology is deployed in the design-to-delivery process?
The first is planning the journey of a customer, from a first-time visitor or enquiry stage to managing the entire project cycle (design, payment schedules, ordering) stage. The next is helping visualise the customised look through AR and VR tools. Finally, it’s the production planning and tracking of the shipment, right till the time the kitchen is installed at the site.
This combined with CRM tools helps capture the customer’s end-to-end journey and track the various stages from concept explorations to design and final delivery.
How viable are investments in technology and how is the ROI looked at by kitchen brands?
Technologies that help reduce friction in the customer delivery process are seen keenly and get a higher share of investment. Tasks which are repetitive and time-consuming also see the application of technology, due to limited trained manpower.
Technology is what sets one appliance brand apart and ahead of the other. The versatility of the smartphone has meant that we as customers naturally go for a smart device when selecting gadgets and appliances. Voice activation, wi-fi control and motion sensing are the new norms in the category. Brands which are ahead on these tech applications definitely see an upswing in sales and share of the market, thus justifying their ROI.
What technologies do you think would be popular in the future?
Generative AI will play a significant role in this category too. Algorithms and programs that can learn from thousands of designs created every day, to help design the perfect kitchen, can be a real thing soon.
Kitchens of the future will accommodate multi-tasking appliances, which will lead to the disappearance or minimal presence of maids/house-help in homes. Technology in appliances will help balance fresh cooking with food deliveries, and help homeowners manage their personal schedules. Tech will also impact the replacement cycle for kitchens and appliances and keep the customers connected with the brands. This will lead to kitchens becoming greener in their operations, such as in the consumption of energy, water, and light and in timely maintenance that minimises breakdowns.
