Samsung India is counting on its next set of AI-based home solutions to accelerate growth in its home appliances business, at a time demand for intelligent and efficient products is on the rise. The company, which derives over 50% of its home appliances sales from AI-powered products, is aiming for 70% of its appliance sales to come from these products by the end of 2025, Ghufran Alam, vice-president, digital appliances business at Samsung India, told FE on Wednesday.
Alam says that the goods and services tax (GST) cut on white goods, which has been timed with the festive season, will spur consumption, especially in air conditioners. ACs, TV above 32 inches and dishwashers have seen their GST rates cut to 18% from 28% earlier, bringing them on par with washing machines and refrigerators. Samsung expects double-digit growth in home appliances over the next one month, driven by the festive season and GST reduction, Alam said.
AI Home Ecosystem and SmartThings Integration
On Wednesday, the company unveiled an “AI Home” at an event in Mumbai, where appliances, devices and services can connect with each other to ensure convenience in everyday living. Samsung is integrating AI technologies used in mobile phones, tablets and laptops (Galaxy AI), TVs (Vision AI) and home appliances (Bespoke AI) through its SmartThings platform to achieve this. The AI Home ecosystem comes alive through the Samsung SmartThings app.
Alam said that India already has a 25-million-strong community of users of its SmartThings app, the third-largest after the US and Brazil. With the launch of AI Home, the company expected this number to grow, as consumers increasingly sought a one-stop solution to power all their AI devices and gadgets.
Affordable AI Devices to Boost Market Share
“At the heart of this is the thought that intelligence is not confined to a single device, but shared seamlessly across every screen, appliance and service. AI Home is bringing all of this together by learning from user behaviour and environmental cues,” Alam said.
At the same time, Samsung is also democratising its AI portfolio by offering AI-enabled features in home appliances at affordable price points. Like an AI-based windfree air conditioner under its Bespoke range is available for Rs 36,000, while an AI double-door refrigerator is available from Rs 44,000 onwards.
The move to offer affordable products also comes as allied home appliance majors jump on to the AI bandwagon to tap into the interest for smart products. Rivals such as LG, Godrej and Haier derive about 35-40% of their appliance sales from AI-based products, with a plan to garner about 60-70% of their revenue from this portfolio in the next one year, executives from these companies said.