The commercial laundry sector is an industry ripe with technology, innovation, and visionary thinking – and we’re not only talking about high-tech commercial laundry machines.
As of 2019, commercial laundries not only enjoy cutting-edge laundry tools, but also the growth and profit that come with these innovations. This has set the industry on a trajectory of growth and advancement, making businesses more willing to test out emerging solutions targeted at addressing common challenges.
In our blog post this week, we take a look at what the future holds for the commercial laundry sector. Continue reading to find out what awaits your business!
Customers will expect smooth, seamless service delivery
While technological advancements increase, our society is bound to become more complex and more pressed for time. This is the same for commercial laundry clients, who will expect external laundry service providers to become more attuned to their needs.
Here, it’s likely that businesses will prefer to submit online or in-app laundry orders and have their laundry picked up, washed according to instructions, and delivered back to their doorstep in next to no time. They will also expect faultless service, with clothes washed, dried – and even ironed, in certain instances – with no delays or problems.
This new level of customer expectation will, most likely, stem from their belief that commercial laundries have the necessary tools and technology to automate many of today’s manual activity.
Commercial laundry machines will become smarter
Another trend we anticipate and are excited to see is smart(er) commercial laundry appliances.
While smart machines are all the rage, nowadays, we believe that as automation capabilities become more advanced, these devices will become more intuitive and intelligent.
Among the many new machines emerging, we expect laundry sorting and folding robots, automatic ironing machines – which transform the ironing process from hours of manual labour to a few minutes of automated steaming – and other seriously cool laundry devices to become more mainstream.
Besides their inbuilt capabilities, these devices will also be connected to laundry management systems, which will further reduce the need for any kind of human input. These will ensure that laundry loads are directed to the right machines, sorted into loads that belong to the correct client, and even signal when the site is ready for the next laundry intake.
Given their present tracking and routing capabilities, it may even be likely that automated vehicles will undertake laundry pick-up and delivery!
The industry will be forced to become greener
In addition to smarter commercial laundry appliances, the industry will also see the rise of cleaner, resource-conservative devices that don’t pose too much of a strain on the environment.
While there are certain devices that claim to reduce water consumption as much as 90%, these will not only become more common in the future, but may also go beyond the 90% mark. This is achievable through the incorporation of polymer bead technology, which is currently making its rounds in the commercial laundry sector.
Beyond water usage, however, emerging devices will also reduce the need for excessive quantities of detergent as well. These chemicals often take a toll on the environment and contribute to the heavy carbon footprint commercial laundries are responsible for.
Digital marketing will become crucial
As the migration towards mobiles and other handheld devices continue, commercial laundries will feel the need to invest in more digital marketing. This will span a variety of strategies, including social media advertising, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and other forms of pay-per-click marketing.
This trend will reflect user migration towards businesses that are not just active online, but who also possess clear authority and look like they know what they’re doing.
Key takeaways
As these trends indicate, commercial laundry machines aren’t the only drivers of change in the highly profitable commercial laundry sector.
While technological trends certainly play an important role, there are many other factors that will transform the way you carry out your operations and optimise your business. Among these, changes in client expectations, their demands, preferences, and behaviours will also exert a tremendous influence, going forward.
Stay ahead of these developments and cement your position as a leader in commercial laundry services!
