Technology has always been a double-edged sword for designers and retailers. The great war between VHS and Betamax video recorders in the 1970s and 80s – and, to an extent, the Phillips 2000 – which VHS won, led to an understanding that innovation, coupled with well-thought out marketing, could persuade the consumer to buy.
In the past, innovative technology products tended to be driven by manufacturers, but the advent of smart technology, and the ever-increasing demand by consumers for the newest and most accessible gadgets for work and entertainment, means that furniture retailers must look carefully at what is offered to the market in order to capitalise on the thirst for new and unusual ideas.
Though there are still many who prefer older, retro styles of furniture, which have a long and distinguished history, there are newer generations for whom this has little or no relevance. The ladder-back chairs or Chesterfield sofas of old may still be valued by those who are comfortable with them, but retailers need to look at furniture that incorporates cutting-edge technology if they are to develop and expand new markets.
Technology changes and evolves so quickly that it can be hard to recognise exactly which trends are going to sell from year to year. However, it is these changes that are driving and influencing purchasing patterns and which are making consumers look much more closely at the furniture they buy and how it fits into their individual lifestyle.
Building technology into furniture can also tap a market where space in the home is at a premium. Large flatscreen TVs and gargantuan home entertainment centres are fine when there is plenty of room available, but for smaller spaces canny consumers are looking to make the most of what they have. Clean lines and less clutter are the watchwords, and in the same way that smart technology has advanced, smart furniture is the way of the future.
Smart furniture is already here, and some retailers are beginning to realise that this is the next major step forward. It may not be too long before cables are a thing of the past as wireless technology advances, and it is inevitable that high-tech furniture will also become an integral part of the future.
The bedroom is the perfect place to install some of these new devices. Beds with retractable plasma TV screen and built-in DVD player in the base, all controlled at a touch of a button are already on the market, while for the living room there are sofas with built-in audio systems featuring iPod docks and two loudspeakers in the framework.
Workstations for the home office include a Techno Tower that is built into the desktop, a system that allows the attachment of multiple laptops and PCs, which slide into the desk when not being used and that has concealed cabling and wires. New products are only limited by the imagination, so a chair, sofa bed, day bed or even dining table, can be engineered with smart technology that can be operated at the touch of a button.
