Recently, my husband got an unexpected text. It was from our Samsung fridge, letting us know it was time to replace our filter. They—the fridge that is—went on to provide filter recommendations, places to purchase and more information about the lifecycle and ongoing maintenance of our appliance.
IoT has been talked about for years, but if CES and discussions at NRF were any indications, businesses are ready to deliver on old promises. We saw ready-for-market products that pushed the limits of what is possible and, more importantly, the quickening pace of technological growth.
Opportunities are rich for brands to leverage these technological advantages in ready-for-market products to make people’s lives simpler, easier and even more enjoyable. Here are some areas of opportunity where brands can make a huge difference in a consumer’s relationship with their smart home devices.
The future of Subscribe and Save
Amazon has seen great success in this model, with people opting to make ongoing subscriptions for routine products. What if smart home appliances did this automatically for you when you needed something?
We’ve seen the power of a smart camera in refrigerators tell consumers what’s needed for a recipe. Imagine if it could go a step further to communicate with Instacart to deliver those ingredients for you in the next hour? Brands could be that critical factor in anticipating a consumer’s next need.
The new territory of unexpected partners
This could be new territory for unique partnerships that enable growth. For example, a smart home manufacturer could do an enterprise deal with Walmart, and when products are needed, they can be automatically added to a user’s Walmart+ account.
Or, if you’re a food and beverage company, you could leverage a refrigerator’s smart camera for event-themed deliveries, recipes and more. Imagine if the perfect Super Bowl dip ingredients were sent your way ahead of game day, or a well-timed champagne and dessert delivery arrived just in time to accompany your Academy Awards viewing.
The next frontier of interoperability
For the first time, interoperation is now at the forefront of smart home appliances and technology, offering a long-needed solution. It will enable a smart home’s various systems, services and devices to communicate with one another as opposed to a collection of smart tools working independently. Universal connectivity renders data more easily accessible, enabling teams to look at smart homes as a source of new insights into customers.
The next race to home will no doubt be between Alexa, Google and Siri, so it’s important for smart home appliances and devices to think about how their products interact with the various tech in the home. Is Samsung talking to Alexa? Could that be one way to create an ongoing Subscribe and Save loop if you’re a Prime customer? Or could it send automated updates through Siri when you’re low on certain products or ingredients?
Matter is an upcoming smart home protocol to watch in this arena, as its working to unify device communication across platforms and already has backing from heavyweights like Apple, Amazon and Google.
Last-mile delivery
So far this year, we heard a lot about last-mile delivery service via drones, robots and more. This reality does not seem too far off and seems like a plausible next step in connecting the consumer journey from need to purchase to delivery. We’re seeing this really pick up with consumer ease ordering goods from Instacart, DoorDash, Drizly and more.
What if that connection was immediate? The empty fridge signals to you that you don’t have dinner tonight, pulls up lists of your favorite restaurants via DoorDash and allows you to order dinner quickly. Gone are the hassle and time commitment of trying to solve the “what’s for dinner?” conundrum.
New comfort and service level
A few years ago, people were hesitant to buy a smart fridge, but the pandemic altered shopping habits and got people comfortable with ordering groceries online. Why shouldn’t that be connected to regularly used devices and easier for the consumer? Advancements in technology are making these simplified, immersive experiences more accessible and commonplace, thus breeding more opportunities for an increase in smart home devices.
With eMarketer projecting nearly 50% of U.S. households will use a smart home device by 2025, there is more opportunity for brands to connect with consumers across various needs. Lastly, it can help refine customer service strategies and CRM capabilities to serve them better.
What’s next?
Currently, no one seems to be designing around this white space, so there is a massive opportunity for brands. Everyone is talking about connected vehicles, but what if your car is also powered by your fridge, reminding you to pick up what you need on the way home?
We now have access to richer consumer insights, better-connected technology and a higher degree of consumer comfort when it comes to shopping online—especially routine purchases that make their lives easier. With brands leveraging this in the right way, we have the opportunity to make connected homes smarter homes that will work harder for the people who live there.
