Growing Population & Urbanization are Responsible for Driving the Smart Bathroom Market

Published On: April 2018

Smart Bathroom Market Overview

The dual trend of rapid urbanization and sophistication of technology is responsible for driving the smart city initiatives in the market. Smart city initiatives are in turn driving the smart bathroom market in the residential as well as commercial sector. Commerce and trade play a major role in urbanization. As a result, increase in disposable income of people has led to increase in the standard of living and hence increase in demand for hi-tech and better sanitary products. Development of smart cities and increasing adoption of smart bathrooms and toilets in urban areas are major factors responsible for driving the growth of smart bathroom market. Growing population and rapid urbanization are very much responsible for the growth of smart cities, smart homes and now smart bathrooms. The urban density can be referred as the number of people living in a particular urban area. As the urbanization progresses, it gives rise to various questions about sustainability, livability, and strains on resources and space. The urban density and congestion problems increase hand in hand. The smart city gives solutions to all problems such as traffic congestion can be solved by smart transport solutions, smart buildings reduce the infrastructure problem, and healthcare problems can be solved by implication of smart toilets in the residential and public places. The smart toilet has showcased a demand primarily from elite class population over the past few years.

Urbanization has led to a rise in the number of people moving to towns and cities to acquire social and economic privileges and benefits. These include social and economic advantages such as better education, health care, sanitation, housing, business opportunities, and transportation. Increasing urbanization along with the migration of people from rural to urban areas is boosting the demand for the smart toilet, especially in developed countries. Thus urbanization is playing a significant role in fostering the smart bathroom market.

Increasing Concern Regarding Energy Conservation & Hygiene Maintenance

As hygiene and energy conservation becomes critically important for maintaining sophisticated environment globally, various small and medium-size companies are investing in building a strong market for smart bathroom, especially in developing countries. Also, companies such as Kohler, ROCA, TOTO, and LIXIL are innovating their product portfolio by integrating smart technology into their offerings thereby fuelling the growth in smart bathroom market in coming years. In most of the cities in developing countries, the basic sanitation remains inadequate. Hygiene maintenance is one of the crucial factors when it comes to smart bathrooms. The automated faucets and liquid soap dispensers are making hygiene maintenance a lot easier. Also, automated water tanks and automated toilet cleaners are making it easier to maintain hygiene with a limited amount of water usage. Self-cleaning toilets are a major innovation in maintaining the hygiene and conserving the resources.

The Other Side of Convenience

The high cost of implementation is one major factor which may hinder the growth of smart bathroom market. Smart bathrooms need a huge initial investment, right from incorporating the sensors to connecting the devices to one another. Smart bathrooms comprise of hi-tech toilets, digital faucets, soaking tubs, and smart mirrors among others. Smart bathrooms are equipped with voice-activated devices which require a high level of technical expertise and connectivity. These devices are incorporated with advanced technologies and hence are expensive. For example, the cost of smart toilet set would range between USD 1000 to USD 10,000 which differs on the basis of functionalities being offered. Also, with advancements in technology and increasing awareness regarding the hygiene maintenance, a self-cleaning toilet which would cost around USD 6500, which was recently launched in Chennai and is considered to be the first of its kind project in India. Thus, high capital investment is a major factor that would cause hindrance to the growth of smart bathroom market. 

Also, the dominance of traditional bathrooms over smart bathrooms could hamper the market growth. Not many people are aware of the smart bathrooms and other features associated with it. Spreading awareness regarding smart bathrooms is very much essential for the market to flourish. Currently, the traditional bathrooms are prevailing its dominance over the smart bathrooms in many urban as well as rural areas. Converting the conventional bathrooms to smart bathrooms is a huge task that involves a lot of changes and requires capital too. The cost of modifying the existing bathrooms to smart bathrooms is quite high. So this could be one major factor which may cause hindrance in the growth of smart bathroom market. But, with the advent of smart bathroom accessories like personalized showers, soaking tubs and high-efficiency faucets, smart bathrooms are slowly making its way into the market. Rapid urbanization has led the people in cities to adopt smart devices instantly. But, this differs in rural areas as well as other underdeveloped countries. So this could arise a factor