Three in five (60%) Australians are willing to invest in AI kitchen appliances in the next few years to help make more positive changes, both environmentally and financially, according to a new Cooking Research Report from Samsung Australia.
To help make time in the kitchen more efficient, over half (53%) of Australians agree that they would benefit from an AI-powered device in the home, and that it would be most useful in the kitchen, with close to half (46%) of Australians interested in using AI to reduce food waste.
With these findings in mind, Samsung Australia vice president of consumer electronics, Jeremy Senior reflects on the roll out of the Samsung built-in cooking range since launching locally in October 2023 and shares the company’s strategy for further category growth in 2024 and beyond.
“We strategically launched the Samsung built-in cooking range via a small footprint and while we’re pleased with the results to date, we’re now in a position to put our foot down and expand,” he told Appliance Retailer.
“Our industry is seeing a rapid acceleration of AI technology, and at Samsung we believe AI has a potential to unlock new experiences, opportunities, and innovations for all, with our core focus being to utilise AI to strengthen the user experience across every touchpoint.
“In 2024 and beyond, we aim to simplify, and Samsung technology will enable smarter, better experiences that will redefine how we live. Now AI also has a role when it comes to cooking and it’s pleasing to see Australian consumers are resonating with the technology available in our cooking products.
“While connectivity and SmartThings add significant benefit, it’s simple things like our Dual Cook Flex capability (pictured above), offering two zones that can work together or independently, and the View Inside camera to check on cooking progress, where consumers immediately see value.
“Looking at colour and design, we know Australians are looking beyond silver and black and the Samsung Bespoke product gives them that opportunity with more choice.
“Ready to take the next step with our range, our current focus is to expand the number of stores and the inventory in those stores, utilising the existing products in the market. There are several products, particularly across the oven and cooktop range, which we see as a benefit of bringing into market in the future.
“We have an extensive range of built-in cooking products available in many markets around the world, some of which will be on show at Eurocucina. We have our eye on a number of product expansions that we’d like to bring in and as we continue to expand our footprint, we will continue to evolve the range.
“At time of launch, the Samsung built-in cooking range was rolled out into select Harvey Norman and The Good Guys stores and we are now considering additional partners. We were open when we brought this product to market, and we presented it to all of our retail partners.
“However, in the early phase, we wanted to make sure we solidified the backend operational processes. We are now confident in our operational cadence and we’ve built a team around these products within our business, so we will expand both within our existing partners and onboard new partners.
“We will continue to expand our dedicated field team in store because we recognise that the cooking category has its own nuances around training and engagement, so we will continue to support and grow that. A key part of our transformation is around our team members and supporting them with more product knowledge and expertise within our head office as well. We’ve been fortunate to be able to bring in people with cooking experience from major cooking brands.
“From a training perspective, our view is that cooking is a unique category. Any of the Samsung team can speak to connectivity and SmartThings but we require a dedicated team that can speak to specific cooking terminology.
“Education of the role that cooking plays in the smart home and the associated consumer benefits is a key focus. Samsung is a founding member of the Home Connectivity Alliance, which means we’re open source and want to ensure Samsung products can talk to the broadest ecosystem of products as possible. Continuing to communicate the real benefits for consumers of having connected products and helping educate both existing and new consumers will remain a key focus for Samsung.
“We’re seeing retailers resonate most with how quickly consumers are embracing to AI and connectivity. We’re seeing how Samsung’s AI technologies across our cooking products and beyond are creating new possibilities for Australians and enabling more efficient ways of living in the home, in the office, or on the go.
“Through over a decade of research into AI and integrating connectivity into our products, Samsung can deliver a true connectivity story to consumers. When I speak to our valued partners, they’re saying that consumers want to understand connectivity more, and with leading product in that space, Samsung is best placed to take advantage of that.”