How artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the home decor industry?

Technology has revolutionised the world around us. Particularly, Augmented Reality (AR), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and social media are among the three major technologies that have hugely impacted the various industry segments and home decor industry is no exception. It is not that these technologies have surfaced only recently, in fact, AI and AR have been around in some form or another since the 50s and social media has been around for 10+ years, however, these technologies are only now starting to create an impact on the home decor industry. 

AR in the home decor industry

Through AR, it is now possible to showcase the furniture in a three-dimensional manner and produce a mock home, thereby, helping the customers to check if the furniture in question really fits the bill in every way. This technology has made it possible for the customers to obtain a real view of the things and then make a decision regarding the products available with the store. Here, the best part is that all this is achievable from the comfort of one’s home itself. Experts clearly state that AR has impacted the customer engagement to a very large extent and increased the conversion rate as well.  

AI in the home decor segment

After AR, it is AI which is making a huge difference in home decor industry segment at the moment. In the past, where the buyers used to spend a lot of time visiting the real/concrete markets, they are now shifting towards exploring the latest home decor solutions online over their computers or mobile phones. The features such as Visual Searches, Chat Bots etc., are seen assisting the customers well in their journey to explore the virtual market in a sensible and fruitful manner. Typically, AI enables customer self-service and supports visual search which is performed by majority of the customers looking for home decor options.

By visual search we mean that the customers can plug in the image/picture into the Visual Search bar and find various solutions to their need as against the Google Search method where they have to type in text to search for a product. This AI in the form of Visual Search is best suited for the home decor industry as it eliminates the disconnection between the retailers as well as consumers and establishes clear understanding between them. Here, it goes without saying that it is much easier for the customer to pin point to what they want rather than having to describe it. So, all what the customers have to do is take a picture, search it and then ask the home decor company or expert about that product.  Thus, through this way, AI can bridge the gap between the client and the interior designer/company to a very large extent.

Growth prospects for AI in the home decor industry

Given the benefits of AI, still only 3 per cent of the retail companies in the world are using AI tools completely to ace their home decor business while a majority of more than 60 per cent believe that they are not deploying the tools yet and may need to speed up. This clearly suggests the scope of advancement in the industry and the trend of deploying the tools of AI in not just a single area of business but in offering tailor-made home decor solutions such as customised furniture, developing the blueprint of the design and timely implementation of the detailed design by almost all the ambitious business firms in India and abroad. 

If we talk about India in particular, then the home decor industry in the country is yet to see a profound revolution through experiences created by AI. However, gradually, one is seeing the expanding online market for the smart home decor solutions. Technavio’s analysts forecast that the online home décor market in India will grow at a CAGR of 50.42 per cent in revenue over the period 2014-2019. Thesemarket trends are surely expected to give a boost to AI in the home decor industry in India.

To sum up...

It goes without saying that AI tools can create a great synergy between the clients and professionals. AI can bridge the gap between a customer’s idea and that which is practical through excellent and intuitive visualisation tools and structural calculations. What more? AI technology can clearly affect the basic elements of communication between the important stakeholders in the industry and bring them closer with each other by overcoming challenges on a daily basis. Overall, AI can help the companies in the home decor segment offer bespoke/customised interior designing solutions to its customers. So, AI is the way to go for the home decor industry in the country for sure.