CHENNAI: Newly married pilot couple Aastha and Tanveer Sharma from Gurugram had just rented their home, a 3BHK. Despite wanting to rent it out, the couple still want its interiors designed, complete with new wardrobes and professional help sought online.
Millennial parents now want luxurious pads for their little one’s nursery. From painting the walls in pastel shades to fairy tale-themed wallpaper, soft toys and warm rugs, parents want a made-to-order room for their newborn. Companies are seeing good business from expecting parents, who want to baby-proof their entire house.
Home improvement market, which is growing at a clipping 15% annually, is gaining traction with more urban denizens seeking professional help for renovation or redesign. They are also doing it in stages, one room at a time, leading to more orders. “Even tenants are renovating their homes to their taste. People today want their homes to look beautiful; a place to relax in when they return from work,” said Joshua Kumar, CEO, Renowala.
With 181 startups in this space, the ones offering AR, VR and 3D visualisation of homes have seen greater funding and consumer interest. With startups offering budget packages, more youngsters are signing up for decorating their houses. With total funding at $295 million, this space has seen startups like Sayfix, Urban Clap, LocalOye Paper attract investment. There has also been consolidation in the space with PayTM acquiring Near.in and Mumbai-based TaskBob acquiring Zepper recently. Access and a consumer-friendly approach by startup designers has led to more people signing up for home decor projects. For instance, Ahmedabad-based Gokul Shodhan got a single room in his house re-done at a budget of Rs 2 lakh by Dekorate, a home improvement startup. “I am very satisfied with the layout and I was able to visualise how the room should look even before I bought furniture,” he said. Urban Clap, a home services startup, sees close to 75% of its orders for individual units rather than full homes. “We also help customers by offering close to 3-4 quotations per request. There is a sense of competition to clinch the order among designers and hence, there is little scope for overcharging,” said Suhail Vadagaokar, VP, Consumer, Brand, Urban Clap.
“Foreign-returns” are also contributing to brisk sales for startups as they want to ape the styles of the countries they have visited or lived in. “A trend that confined solely to the rich and upper-middle income group is now being seen among middle-class youngsters. By getting the house redone room by room, they are able to control costs,” said Aman Bhadauria, COO, Dekorate.
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