Home renovation and design platform Houzz has launched in India. The entry into India marks the company’s fifteenth market, and alongside, it is also expanding its Pro+ service previously only available in the US to six other countries – excluding India.
Apart from the website, Houzz is a popular app for Android and iOS platforms that apart from allowing users to browse and submit design ideas; read and connect with home professionals, also provides a ‘Sketch’ feature for users to annotate, draw on, or add products to their photos.
Speaking with TechCrunch, Houzz co-founder and CEO Adi Tatarko said the company already had a large community in India before its launch here. She added that the home renovation and design site received over a million unique monthly visitors from India, and that the over 40,000 local professionals were already using the site’s services.
While Houzz.in currently lists products with links to retailers, it has not yet started its e-commerce section in the country with which it directly sells home products in other regions. As we mentioned, the company has not yet brought its Pro+ service, a local marketing program and subscription service for home professionals, to the country. Tatarko says however she is looking to bring both e-commerce and Pro+ to India in the near future. The India site currently displays a ‘beta’ tag.
The India launch of Houzz saw the company making several small changes on its website in the name of localisation, such as changing some terms to match the local usage – for example, a ‘general contractor’ became a ‘civil engineer and contractor’ – as well as showcasing local content and architectural styles.
Houzz doesn’t have much established competition in India as yet, so if it can get started on the right foot, the platform may become very popular, directly connecting interior design and architecture professionals with home owners, and providing a base for professionals to showcase their work. The online market for interior decoration and remodelling services is still quite nascent in the country, with only a few names like Houssup, Houzify, and Livspace providing similar services, though there are several furniture and interior decoration e-commerce sites like Pepperfry and FabFurnish on the radar.
The site is currently available in Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, the US, the UK, and now, India.
[Source:-gADGET .360]
