Eletrolar News 134 – Connected Home – In full growth
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The residential automation category is on an upward curve with respect to sales in Brazil, a market with high potential but still small compared to the American market. Today, 80% of middle-class Brazilians are interested in these products, and sales are expected to triple in three years.
by Leda Cavalcanti
The market for smart home products grows and promises high performance in the coming years. The Brazilians are more adapted to the technology, and the Internet of Things (IoT) has been appreciated by them, which helps the automation category, whose items allow the user, for example, to choose the distance, the temperature of your home. Security is another pro for smart devices, so much so that 80% of Brazilians of the middle class have interest in them, shows research by Positivo Tecnologia.
This year, the IoT segment is expected to move US$ 735 billion in the world, with potential to exceed US$ 1 trillion in 2022, according to a study by IDC. “On the next 36 months, these products are expected to grow from 30% to 40% per year, but the Brazilian market is still small in comparison with the American one. The price decrease will happen with the maturity of the technology,” says José Roberto Tobias, head of Positivo Casa Inteligente.
The category’s sales also increase due to other factors. “The arrival of Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa in Brazil helped the consumer to know the facilities of automation. Here, it is very much in the beginning, but it has existed for more than 25 years. The difference is that today it is much more accessible and easier to install and use,” says Vartan Horigian, CEO of the BHX Brands Group, which owns the Energy brand, whose line of automation is Orvibo.
Within six years, smart devices will be just as consumed as smartphones, believes i2GO director Marcelo Castro, for whom the market is increasingly heated. “The reality of the connected home is more inserted in the Brazilian routine, due to the ease of connections. It is not only the low prices that will leverage sales, but also the cost-benefit contained in each product, which needs to unite price with quality and functionality.”
Ease of installation
Smart devices have evolved and making their installation increasingly easy is a goal for companies, says Pablo Larrieux, director of new business of Elsys. “Facilitating is an essential element, such as product integration, to provide the customer with a consolidated experience. Companies have to move forward in technology, but they have to put the consumer in the process, because the majority that joins the purchase does so because the product is a solution to a problem.”
In the past, each device, be it a lamp, a sensor or a camera, required a specific application to work, which made it more complicated to use, says Rafael Assa, director of Alfacomex, owner of the Geonav brand. “The market is new, we believe it is expected to grow a lot, and the arrival of Amazon and Google in Portuguese with the digital assistants is a facilitator to leverage the sales of products for the connected house.”
In the coming years, the market is expected to evolve with better and more stable products in terms of functioning, emphasizes Adrian Salvetti, president of Vetti. “It is negative to think that the cheapness of the items helps the sales. There are many companies out of our business trying to copy the concept and offering cheap products that don’t work as they should and end up disturbing the market.”
Technical director of NovaDigital, David Lopes foresees a heated dispute of brands in future times. “Each one will offer its solutions, imposing a severe competition, forcing always the innovation and the cost reduction without diminishing the quality. This will cause a considerable drop of prices for the consumer, which will benefit a lot from the competition that the market promises.” Next, follow the news of companies in residential automation.
The role of retail
Retail plays a crucial role in the development of the category. “The exhibition of these products has to be set apart, the client enters the store, tastes and understands the concept. It is necessary to have an interactive exhibitor,” says the head of Positivo Casa Inteligente. “The sale depends on several factors, such as team training, displays that promote an experience of use, content and price consistent with our reality,” believes the director of Alfacomex.
Intelligent devices are good retail products. “They should be offered in the electric corridor, with salespeople trained to do the demonstration,” says the president of Vetti. “The retail is excellent to present novelties to customers. These items should be in small stands that simulate a connected home, this educates the customer. The companies, on the other hand, already do a work with the retail in new products, with training and joint actions to explain their operation,” emphasizes the Elsys new business director.
