When Fnac and Darty present their vision of home automation

The Fnac and Darty brands, part of the Darty group, took advantage of the summer to demonstrate their vision of the home of the future. Called Maison de demain (House of Tomorrow), their concept focuses on home automation and the integration of the latest technologies. The aim? To make the lives of residents ever easier. An avant-garde project that fits in with the efforts of many players, including insurance professionals.

FACTS

• In order to demonstrate the potential of the latest home automation technologies, the distributors of many of these products, Fnac and Darty, chose to offer an immersive experience to the general public on this theme.

• They presented their House of Tomorrow, whose doors were open between 2 and 12 June. Set up in the heart of Paris, this 750 m² space presented, in the reconstruction of a home, the new technologies capable of making living spaces more practical while promoting sustainable and eco-responsible consumption.

• 12 rooms allowed visitors to test these home automation technologies in as many areas of daily life dedicated to cooking, teleworking, the well-being of residents, cultural activities, managing family life and children, or even home maintenance and mobility.

• A total of 270 objects were on display, including some twenty exclusive innovations.

• In addition to this physical space, Fnac Darty and also organised a live-shopping event to extend their online experience and open up their event to a maximum number of internet users.

• From a marketing point of view, Fnac Darty's initiative was a success as the House of Tomorrow attracted more than 4,000 visitors in 10 days and generated more than 300,000 online views.

CHALLENGES

• Repeat a successful experience: The Fnac Darty group already offered an immersive experience in the world of connected housing in 2019, with its Apartment of the Future. The experience having been a success, and the trend having become stronger over the years, the group is now seeking to confirm its ambitions on this theme with its House of Tomorrow.

• Promoting eco-responsibility: In addition to the practical optimisation of homes, a new issue is now being widely promoted in the context of the House of Tomorrow experiment, namely the sustainability of equipment and the eco-responsibility of living spaces. In addition to appliances made from recycled materials, for example, Fnac and Darty provided advice on repairing household appliances during the Maison de Demain experience.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• Fnac Darty's initiative aims to address the whole family and promote the use of new home automation technologies in the context of optimising living spaces for all. But one of the main challenges of the advent of home automation is also largely linked to a societal issue, that of the ageing population. Home care for the elderly, and more broadly, for frail people, is thus becoming a major issue. A real market is emerging in this area, involving a variety of players, not only promoters of new technologies such as Fnac Darty, but also insurers, mutual insurance groups and assistance service providers.

• Among their initiatives is that of the Mobicap group, which at the end of 2021 entered into a partnership with AS2D, a joint venture of the Arkéa Sécurité group, to equip its residences with a tailor-made home automation solution. The aim? To develop the autonomy of residents of inclusive residences.

• In addition to the issue of keeping frail people in their homes, home connectivity is also creating vast opportunities in the area of risk prevention, to limit losses, better protect homes, and capitalise on the advent of parametric insurance.

• And the trend is global; the American insurance giant State Farm has just invested no less than 1.2 billion dollars in shares in the development of the property protection and home automation technology specialist ADT.