Can Generative AI Benefit the Furniture Industry?

 

 Many furniture companies have grappled with how (if at all) to implement the new wave of generative Artificial Intel (AI) in their business.

 What role does generative AI currently play in the furniture industry?

Many companies – if not all – are exploring generative AI, and we’re seeing that large and global enterprises in particular are taking a measured and cautious approach. Instead of diving into full-scale production projects right from the start, they begin with small pilot initiatives involving generative AI.

But generative AI is a natural partner for consumer insights, particularly for businesses in the furniture industry that are on understanding customer needs and expectations, and bringing that understanding to all their employees. 

As furniture brands navigate the potential implementation of generative AI tools, what should they prioritise (or avoid) to ensure long-term success?

Firstly, it’s important that furniture business executives consider that generative AI is still in its early stages of development, and take a thoughtful approach as a result. Furniture businesses need to identify real-life pain points that generative AI tools can effectively address. Implementing generative AI simply for the sake of using the technology, without a clear purpose, may lead to inefficiency resource allocation and limited effectiveness.

When it does come time for implementation, it’s crucial that furniture businesses make sure they only work with trusted vendors for AI solutions, and that the data they use in an AI-enabled system is handled in a secure and compliant manner. For furniture companies who are reliant on market and consumer research to make business decisions, it’s pivotal that any tool they implement only uses vetted data to generate AI-enabled answers – unlike open AI apps that pull from the public domain, or that might not process data in a compliant manner.

Additionally, during integration, furniture organisations must ensure that their generative AI tool is complemented by a human-run service layer. Implementing generative AI effectively requires a human component to ensure long-term value and ROI.



What unique challenges furniture brands face? How can  AI help solve them?

Furniture brands, and all consumer-facing retailers, are faced with the constant challenge of keeping up with consumer preferences. Based on the economy, location and cultural trends, consumer needs, expectations, and desires can be hard to see and follow, and insights and data analysis are crucial ways to keep up – but doing so is essential for business success and customer loyalty.

Consumer insights allow brands to actively understand how consumers are reacting to products, and what their preferences are. Generative AI takes this capability one step further by making it easier for users of the new tools to discover new information through the simplified, conversational interface made possible by generative AI technologies.

In what ways can the implementation of generative AI tools help furniture brands maximise profits and develop a better understanding of consumer expectations/ preferences?

Generative AI can supercharge the technologies that are already delivering a positive impact on the furniture industry in a variety of ways. From a consumer preference perspective, democratized access within the organization is crucial, and that can be catalyzed by a generative AI tool.

Generative AI reduces the time spent on manually researching and analysing important information and responding to consumer preferences, opening up operational bandwidth to be spent on implementation and action, which is important for furniture brands looking to stay on top of trends and close to their consumers.

Prioritizing consumer-centricity and customer data helps give businesses the upper hand. Research by McKinsey shows that organizations that leverage customer behavioral insights outperform peers by +85% in sales growth and more than +25% in gross margin.

With its heavy reliance on qualitative data, the furniture industry is in a unique position to accelerate  impactful decision making organization-wide, with the increased insight that new generative AI solutions can provide – maximizing returns and business success.

Will generative AI eliminate some job functions for human employees in the furniture industry? For data collection and consumer insights specifically, how might customized generative AI tools complement or eliminate human work?

AI solutions should complement human intelligence, not replace it. Generative AI tools should be viewed as a huge asset for consumer-facing businesses, and can be leveraged to complement the work of employees to give them more time to delve into other projects.

For knowledge management specifically, combining generative AI capabilities and custom data can help to dramatically reduce the time spent on internal manual tasks like desk research and analysis of proprietary information. The time saved and the new insights gained from an ability to access data and insights more easily and quickly can result in a better return on data and insights, a more customer-centric organization with better decision-making, more product innovation, and ultimately more opportunities, and increased revenue and profitability.

How do you think generative AI customization will propel business operations for the furniture industry as the world gains a better understanding of how to leverage the technology?

Generative AI is currently in its early stages, but development in this area is happening at lightning speed. The implementation of generative AI solutions can provide furniture companies with incredible power and speed to sort large volumes of data, delivering a significant productivity boost, and promoting exploration and inspiration through a seamless interface.

It is expected that Generative AI will eventually become a fully integrated aspect of the technology stack for large enterprises – especially for consumer-facing businesses like those in the furniture industry – enabling brands to be the most efficient and capable versions of themselves.

The industry is in process of understanding  the technology and what can be accomplished with it. Time will tell what the long-term impact and applications for this new technology will be across different areas.

One opportunity for incorporating generative AI into the furniture industry centres around the enhanced efficiency, productivity and creativity among employees in furniture companies enabled by them discovering new information through the simplified, conversational interface made possible by generative AI technologies.

AI can help brands access relevant data and insights more easily and quickly, resulting in a more customer-centric organization with more informed decision-making, better product innovation, and thus more opportunity to increase revenue and profitability. No matter where customers are shopping, a generative AI-powered knowledge management tool will ensure that companies can have a clearer understanding of what its customers want and what their preferences are.

Posted by Rob Long, Fashion Editor