Furniture is the most significant part of our lifestyle; it is a great way to show personal preferences, luxury life, and the need to sit and relax. Furniture is not only for living a lavish life but also is required to be used to greet guests in an office and when sitting outside on their front porch. Furniture manufacturers and designers have rushed to fill this bill with items they know their clients will love. The furnishing industry remains a largely robust sector of the economy right now. It is likely to continue to remain so as companies pay attention to key sectors of the market and deliver items that please today’s consumers. The furniture customization software works on similar grounds. It allows you to increase your brand value with its unique customization features as you can let them design and live in their dream house. The tool is well-designed to accommodate any changes brought in customers’ shopping behavior as they can select, design, and customize their tables, chairs, sofas, and many other furniture.
Furniture Software Enabling Companies to Transform their Business Strategies
It is true that trends come and go, but something that will stay in the market is online business along with digital technology. This is particularly true in the furniture sector; e-commerce continues to grow rapidly as cross-channel shopping trends evolve. Therefore, the shopping journey is becoming more complex, and retailers are being forced to rethink how they engage with customers. The industry has changed a lot, thanks to the shopping experience. The way people buy products today is way different from how they did even just a year ago. For furniture retailers and manufacturers to stay competitive in this fast-changing industry, they have to know and embrace the latest trends.
As technological advancements happen faster and faster, marketing for all industries is evolving just as rapidly. For furniture retailers who want to capture new customer demographics, give their customers the best possible experience, add value, and grow their bottom line in the future, these are the furniture industry trends that are worth tackling this year. Therefore, in the furniture industry, in 2018, the revenue for worldwide furniture and appliance eCommerce sat at $258 billion. Subsequently, by 2022, it is projected to grow to $394 billion. Furniture retailers have traditionally been bound to brick-and-mortar showrooms where shoppers could see and test out expensive furniture pieces before making purchases. But that’s changing, in large part because of these big furniture industry trends.
Let us look at the various elements that are driving the furniture sector:
- Shoppers Will Still Buy in Furniture Stores, But Digital Sales Will Grow
People like to buy big furniture pieces, such as sofas and beds, from an in-store because they are expensive and buyers want to see them in person before they make any final call. Customers treat this big-budget furniture like an investment; hence, they prefer to make their purchases in stores, where they can have the tactile experience of seeing and feeling a piece before pulling the trigger.
Since, in the past few months, people have become so habitual of buying through the internet, that it has become even more convenient for them to browse through various products and compare prices on multiple sites. This is never possible in a brick-and-mortar store; physically researching different options and prices would take so much time. And while, currently, only 14 percent of those shoppers say they make the final purchase online, that number is growing. In the coming year, we shall more people involved in online furniture shopping, and that is why the retailers should be preparing for sales to move away from the showroom and onto the internet, more and more each year.
Augmented Reality (AR) has become a powerful marketing tool for many brands. It’s used to enhance their brand image and engage their target audiences. Big brands, such as Tesco and Kate Spade, have all used AR in different ways to surprise and delight consumers. However, in the furniture industry, no one has embraced AR like IKEA.
- Buyers Expect Free Shopping
When buyers invest so much in your business and make your life so easy, it is natural they will expect some discount or something in return. The same is the case with free shipping. Earlier, when customers could be enticed with showing hefty discounts or seen as a perk, now people demand free shipping to be a part of every purchase they make, and the same number expects their purchases to arrive within three days.
Ecommerce furniture retailers like Wayfair and Allmodern are already leading the way on this trend, offering the fast, free shipping that’s now become the norm. This strategy doesn’t cost much to retailers. In the future, the furniture sellers who don’t ship free of charge will have to offer other perks like discounts or free items to convince shoppers to pay up for something they increasingly think should be included. And we are sure you don’t want to be a part of that group.
- Buyers Demand Click-and-Collect Services
Till the time people are buying online, paying for products is not a headache, but what about when they come to a physical store. Buying through ecommerce removes the problem of contactless payment, and products are delivered to their homes. But it could also lead to a rise in package theft, which also leads to people expecting their purchases delivered to a nearby pickup point. For furniture retailers, that means accommodating click-and-collect orders by receiving and distributing deliveries for online shoppers at brick-and-mortar stores. The role of furniture showrooms is shifting in the ecommerce age. Yes, they’re still places where shoppers can see and test out furniture, but they also need to act as service centers and distribution centers for online shoppers. We only see this trend increasing in 2020.
The furniture design allows brands to let their customers design their sofas, tables, and chairs from their home’s comfort in a few clicks. The tool is an epitome of providing robust business solutions to brands and supports them in taking their business to a higher level.
- Customers Need Personalized Experience
In 2020, half of the shoppers expect brands to anticipate their needs and offer relevant suggestions for products and content—before they make contact with those brands. Personalization is going deeper and deeper with each passing year, and we expect 2020 to be no different.
Business needs to be collecting as much as data as possible about their customers. They have to have information on their online searches, demographics, locations, purchase history, and many other things. These all together give you a clear of what your buyer likes, what he needs, and how to approach him. Besides, these are fruitful in providing relevant buying recommendations to consumers, thus increasing your revenue chances. The brands need to have product information organized and properly labeled so that personalization tools can easily find the right products to recommend across different channels and demographics.
- Mix Online and Offline Shopping
One of the biggest trends for the upcoming year in the ecommerce industry as a whole is the blending of online and IRL shopping experiences. Here’s what that means: Businesses are using technologies like facial recognition and device tracking to match shoppers’ in-store behavior to their online habits and data. It may sound a little scary, but it’s allowing retailers to get closer and closer to a truly omnichannel shopping experience.
The Ball is in Your Court-
From the cases mentioned above, it is evident that the furniture industry has witnessed many ups and downs in recent times. But as online shopping is prevailing, and technology is advancing, the furniture brands must adopt these changes and spur in the luxury market. The furniture design software by iDesigniBuy is a prominent name in the luxury market, enabling furniture brands to embrace new shopping trends. Our customization solution provides robust business recommendations to brands that enable companies to stand out from the crowd and cater to every new demand put forth by customers.
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