Smart Fridge Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Product Type (Reusable bags, Non-Reusable Bags), By Material (Paper, Cotton , Plastic, Jute & Hemp and Others), By Distribution Channel (Hypermarkets & Supermarkets, Convenience Stores, Online Stores, Others) And Regional Forecast, 2024-2032

Advancement in technology has led to the number of innovations in household appliances and the introduction of a smart fridge is one amongst them. This refrigerator is characterized by advanced features such as touch screen, voice recognition and internet as well as bluetooth connectivity offering greater convenience to the user which is driving its demand. The fridge can be easily connected to personal devices such as cell phones and tablets which in turn give remote access to the appliance through the software. This allows users to easily manage and control the storage of food in the fridge. Therefore, the growing trend of digitalization is expected to propel the market growth.

The fridge has various sensors by which it can send a notification to the user if the fridge door is been left open and the user can close the door remotely through mobile based application. Additionally, grocery list notifications or other reminders and alarms can be set on the display which adds value to the product. Moreover, manufacturers are focusing on making the fridge more energy efficient and adding novel features to the product to attract consumer base. For instance, in January 2018, LG introduced its new ‘InstaView ThinQ smart refrigerator,’ which has a touchscreen feature that can become transparent when the user knocks on it two times. This allows the user to see contents kept inside the refrigerator.

An increasing number of residential constructions coupled with the adoption of green buildings and modernization of households is boosting the product demand. For instance, according to the article, ‘Construction output in Great Britain: January 2020’ published on 11th March 2020 by the Office of National Statistics U.K, the output of construction in the U.K. was increased by 1.4% from October 2019 to January 2020, as compared to the previous three-month period. As per the same source, this rise was attributed to growth in new construction work by the value of 2.4%. This new construction work was further impacted due to growth of private housing, private commercial as well as infrastructure sectors, which rose by 2.4%, 2.1%, and 1.7% respectively in the same period.

Furthermore, changes in lifestyle, long working hours and tight schedules have resulted in increased demand for smart fridge appliances which save the time of users in monitoring daily checks of fridge contents. Moreover, the increasing trend of eating frozen foods and ready-to-cook items is supporting the market growth. Additionally, the development of smart fridges specifically for commercial sectors is also fuelling product demand. For instance, in November 2018, Electrolux along with Karma introduced a smart fridge intended to be used at grocery stores. It is installed with the Karma app that allows the user to purchase food items which are not sold at a grocery store at the end of the day for about half its regular price. This also helps in reducing the food wastage as the food which is not sold is otherwise thrown away.

However, advanced technology also comes with security issues and problems of malware attacks as it is continuously connected with the internet. This factor is therefore expected to hamper the market growth

Key Players Covered:

The key companies operating in the global smart fridge market are, AB Electrolux, Samsung Group, Haier Group, Xiomi Corp., Whirpool Corp., LG Electronics, Panasonic Corp., and Hisense Group.

Based on door type, the market is segmented into, side-by-side, french door, single door and others. French door segment is expected to hold major market share as it offers more convenience in keeping food items. Moreover, this type allows proper segregation of food items in three different compartments. Only one compartment can be opened at a time in which the food item is to be kept or taken out.

Based on the application, market is segmented into residential and commercial. Residential segment is expected to hold major share owing increasing adoption of people towards user friendly and artificial intelligence enabled appliances which offers ease and convenience in food storage during their daily routine.

Based on the distribution channel, market is segmented as offline and online. The offline channel is expected to hold major share as people usually prefer buying such electronics items at physical stores as such devices are one-time purchase items. Offline stores give confidence to the consumer about the product they are purchasing in terms of size, color and features which can be visually seen at these stores.

Regional Analysis:

North America is expected to hold major share in global market during the forecast period 2019-2026. Increasing number of nuclear families in the region has increased the need of advanced appliances which offer better assistance to the user and saves the time in operation. For instance, according to the article ‘Household size and composition around the world’, published in October 2017 by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the average size of the household is less than 3 persons per household across the U.S. as of 2017.  Additionally, majority of smart refrigerators are considered as premium products and presence of high-income groups in the region which are ready to spend more on consumer electronics is likely to propel market growth. Moreover, presence of techno-savvy society that is inclined towards advanced products has led to increasing number transformations of old kitchens to new modernized kitchens. This in turn is positively impacting the market size.

Asia Pacific is expected to grow rapidly in the global market owing to increasing standard of living and rising adoption of portioning of food items among the populace (where required amount of food is taken out while the remaining portion is kept in the fridge for further use). Moreover, Asia Pacific is also characterised by presence of key players such as Samsung, LG, Haier Group and Xiomi among others which is offering new products to domestic consumers as per their specific needs. For instance, in April 2019, Samsung launched a new product line of smart refrigerators, ‘SpaceMax Series Side-by-Side Refrigerator’ in India which is energy efficient and also provides more space to store food.

Segmentation

Key Industry Developments

• In December 2019, Xiomi launched its new Viomi Internet Refrigerator having a touch panel of 21-inchs. The fridge also has a feature which offers the user with more than 1 million online food recipes.


• In July 2019, Samsung launched its new smart fridge with a digital assistant system Bixby which has ability to offer a personalised information by recognising the user’s voice