HomeTown wants to redefine how it sells furniture in the online age. It is exploring opportunities like virtual and augmented reality to allow customers to see what furniture would look like in their homes. This could involve mapping customers' rooms, allowing them to try different furniture options virtually, and sharing selections with others. The goal is to provide a more personalized experience and increase sales by better enabling customers to visualize options and compare items.

2. However, HomeTown also exists in an age which sees 2 additional dimensions:
• Desire to make your own home, with things as personalised as possible
• Retail is out, e-tail is in.
Hometown Wants To Sell More Than Just
Furniture. It Wants To Give You A
Complete Home Solution.
So, the question posed is, In a time where everyone and everything is online, how does
HomeTown redefine a saturated category?
We need to attract consumers, provide them relevant value, while still keeping an
eye on the bottom line.
Exploring
Opportunities

3. Shift from collectivistic to
individualistic society
This means that individuals are going
to leave behind the notion of joint
families, and set up their nest earlier,
and on their own.
This means more homes to
decorate!
Consumers today want
personalisation.
They are spoilt for choice, and are
fickle, so loyalty levels are low.
The TG is tech savvy.
This means that we need to
actively involve the consumer, and
we need to move fast!
Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality
through Holograms are no more an
idea of the future. The future is now!
This means that there are pieces of
technology that by themselves may
be irrelevant, but put together may
create some magic!
CONSUMER TRENDS
SOCIETAL TRENDS
TECHNOLOGICAL
TRENDS
Reigning Trends

4. Category
Characteristics
Based on:
An interview with
an industry
specialist
Seasonal trend is from July to October
This period has 60% of the entire year’s sale
Season from Independence Day sale,
dhanteras and ends after Diwali
During this season, consumers get conscious about
how their home looks
Main categories: Soft furnishing and hard furnishing
Majority of sales: Hard Furniture – sofa sets, beds, etc
Bulk purchases are characteristic of this season

5. S p e a k i n g t o A n d I n t e r v i e w i n g H o m e O w n e r s
Digital Audit of HomeTown
In Depth research into VR/AR
The APAC region is the fastest-growing market because of the growing
consumer market in
countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, and others.
The market is dominated by major players such as Google, Metaio, Oculus
VR, Samsung, -CyberGlove Systems and Microsoft among others.
The Global AR
Market
Is expected to reach
117.4BN
by 2022, at a CAGR of
75.72%
between 2016 to
2022 The Global VR Market
Is expected to reach
33.9BN
by 2022, at a CAGR of
57.84%
between 2016 to
2022

6. New want for their ‘own’ feel
in terms of colour, size
They want to touch and feel
only chairs, and sofas.
Beds are seen, but not touched, or sat on
as the mattresses are sold separately
Customers don’t listen to the
recommendations of the store
managers; Ulterior motive of
suggesting a brand
PRIMARY
RESEARCH
S T O R E S
Customers only want their own design
Unsold pieces
High warehouse costs, high
store rental costs

7. PRIMARY
RESEARCH
Make a home,
even if its rented
C O N S U M E R S
Experience
matters
Pe r so n al i se d
Friends and family play
large role
Word of mouth is
the strongest
influencer

8. Stores Complain:
Customers
go online to
shop
Consumers
Complain:
No nice
options
Time taken
at a store is
high
CONSUMER PAIN POINTS
What you see
is not what
you may get
Customers complain
they can’t see if two
purchases will match
each other
“I can’t see if it
will match my
home”
?

9. Connected Sociology, Technology, Anthropology,
Psychology
This helps in forming a holistic solution by accessing
multiple points in the consumers life .
Experience over Technology.
Customer experience was our prime
motivation. Everything else was just
a tool to achieve that.
IDEATION

10. 25-45 YO, Upper middle class, with DINK, DIOK,
formats
Young married couples renting a flat and buying a few
things,
People buying a house,
People redoing/refurnishing their entire house.
Female led category
Females have better aesthetic opinion
and consider their home their identity
Starting point for newly married
couples
Consumer
Characteristics
Based on:
Primary Research

11. Consumer
Decision
Making
Journey
S e a s o n a l
a s p i r a t i o n s ,
Redoing home,
S h i f t i n g a n d
moving
TRIGGER
Future Group has
covered consumer
wants and needs in
this category, either
through acquisition,
or development
NEEDS
We have ensured that our
offerings trigger both store
visits and home visits; both
points of purchase in this
c a t e g o r y h a v e b e e n
touched
VISIT
Increased methods of evaluation
for better consumer experience.
Every point in our solution aids
product comparison, and aided-
comparison. SEO, SEM needs to
be good so we can be present at
every point the consumer is
EVALUATE
Store representatives will
enable and fuel purchase,
while increasing attach rate.
Further, ticket sizes are
maximised by offering a lager,
more relevant basket to
choose from
BUY
We have enabled sharing on every
device at our end, so it can reach
every device on their end. Complete
e n d - t o - e n d s h a r i n g f r o m
HomeTown to Consumer. This will
be further driven by marketing
activities, shaped and refined by a
communication idea
SHARE

12. SCENARIO PLANNING
N o M a p p i n g
VIRTUAL
CATALOGUE
at Store
VIRTUALLY
Customizable
at Store
Log of selection
& changes
with Store
Attendant
Virtual selection
Shareable with
Friends & Family
Easy to Use;
Satisfied
Consumer
. . .
1.
Video Link 1: h#ps://youtu.be/iMeBxiUnwC0

13. SCENARIO PLANNING
M a p p i n g2.
360 degree video
of Room/House
Mapping of
Room/House
VIRTUAL
CATALOGUE
at Store
Customizable to
fit into House
Layout
Log of selection &
changes
with Store Attendant
Virtual selection
Shareable with
Friends & Family
Easy to Use;
Satisfied
Consumer Video Link 2: h#ps://youtu.be/yHyTEPddjt8
As the number of items increase, or the complexity of the solution increases, or the ticket size
increases, so to must the sophistication of the solution, and the customer experience be
enhanced.

14. SCENARIO PLANNING
W e C o m e t o Y o u
Appointment &
then we come to
you!
Holographic
Furniture Fit
Data Stored
through Data
Capturing GlovesHolographic selection,
Virtually Shareable
with Friends & Family
Easy to Use;
Satisfied
Consumer
3.
Video Link 3: h#ps://youtu.be/-­‐q_MbOmNimA
Significant point of advantage: Salesmen can recommend more items on the basis of
items at home and the décor, and increase ticket size

15. By combining these pieces of technology, we will be able to redefine the category for
consumers, and give them something no one else has.
TECHNOLOGICAL PROTOTYPE
Microsoft Holo Lens
This will provide a
b a s e f o r t h e
holographic features
Oculus VR
T o p r o v i d e t h e V R
experience in store, and to
customers at their homes
Eye tracking, Face tracking & Data
Capturing Gloves
To capture any motion the consumer
makes, right down to subtle body
language readings.

16. THE
COST ASPECT
Off the shelf Cost
$350
Basic components required
to build and augmented
reality system:
Camera
Small projector
Smartphone
Mirror
Devices in Market with cost:
Google Holo Lens- $3000
Oculus Rift price: $599
Meta- $667-$3650
Laster SeeThru:
$399
Online shop in virtual or augmented reality:
$15 000 – $25 000;
Data Capturing Gloves:
$750; (VMG 30)Trends and Technology alone doesn't
make sense. It is only when things are
put together that they become usable
and give value

17. Technology possible, but not yet
being done large scale
Market will boom
Technology possible, but not
yet being done large scale
Ecosystem being
created slowly
First-mover advantage
Highly engaging
Easy to set differentiation
Brand strategy, communication
strategy possible
Breaks clutter of the market
Simple to use technology,
and easy to train staff
Lowers warehousing costs
Lowers store rent cost
Decreases unsold pieces &
increases inventory turnover
What is
DIFFERENT
about this
idea?

18. Why could
these ideas
NOT work?
Not for those who
seek quick cash
Will require long
term planning to
execute
Recovery cycle for
investments may
be long
Requires mettle
and grit to enter
into

19. SCALABILITY
The B2B Market
From the perspective of a B2B extension, this model is extremely sound.
Hotels:
If hotels can give us a mapped area of a room, we can provide solutions to them. Since
they have fixed room architecture, this will be easy to execute
Styles, colours, themes, models can be quickly seen, approved and purchased.

20. fin.
fin