top-10-new-ideas-features-for-furniture-ecommerce-stores

By: Matrid Business Consultancy Team | Last Modified: July 19, 2022.

We provide Furniture eCommerce clients with advanced, innovative and scarcely used ideas, techniques and solutions. It is pertinent to keep innovating the web delivery techniques in this fiercely competitive Furniture eCommerce Industry. Every other Furniture eCommerce website looks very same – then which USP / Presentation / Web delivery can win you customers?

From a huge product listing at Houzz to Walmart’s Next Day Delivery to Wayfair.com, you have to take on the big giants and even your next door competitors. It is possible only if you have unique selling ideas, a winning team to execute and a very proactive web development and online marketing team.

Below are 10 stunning ideas cobbled by our Business Consultants:

The Idea No. 1:

Technology Driven Furniture Customization

“Give the ease to your customer to design furniture themselves with a graphic tool”

At a very sophisticated level of coding, we design for you tools where customers can design the furniture in real time. This surely enhances your selling capabilities enormously. Every other research on the subject shows that custom furniture sells very easily than pre-built furniture.

It is applicable only if you have capabilities to manufacture custom furniture as well.

One prominent case is of Tylko. Tylko has shown entrepreneurs how Custom Furniture business model thrives the sales. It does not only let a customer personally design his own furniture, but it also allows him to view, restyle and redesign it virtually till a customer is fully satisfied with the look he is desiring.

Tylko has shown the way:

Furniture Customization is going to rule

Tylko provides a stunning way for customers to be their own furniture designer. And it has resulted in big – big sales for Tylko as well.

The Easy Idea No. 2:

 

Sell Custom Furniture with Easy Graphical Forms (automated generation)

“the easiest and cost effective way to sell custom furniture”

If you do not wish to go that tech heavy, then, the easiest option is simple product specific forms where a customer can select numerous options of the product he desires like color, material of specific parts of a piece of furniture, style, leg height, length of back, type of wood, circumference, and any other minor details as per the product in question.

You can make the forms trendy by providing images for each option. It is very cost effective to code and also provides your customer the ability and still simplicity too.

With our smart algorithm, these forms get auto created as per the product in question.

All of the above is feasible only if you have an infrastructure where you can manufacture custom furniture. And if you have the capabilities to sell custom furniture, then we have the technical solution.

It is Time to Provide your customer the Ability to Design Themselves.

At No. 3: Here is the pure innovation

The Furniture Gift Registry App

Learn from Crate and Barrel’s Ingenious Gift Recovery App

“Attention: Furniture Retailers, Are you ignoring $6.1 Billion Potential Sales Market?”

A striking example of a business exploiting their niche market is exhibited by Crate and Barrel, achieving A billion dollar sales touch point by innovating a unique Gift Registry App.

Crate and Barrel is no novel player in the Furniture industry. Founded in 1962, Chicago, and acquired exclusively by the Otto Group in 2011, it has an astounding history of innovation and expansion leading to its total sales of $1.5 billion as of 2015.

One of these innovations includes employing a Mobile app strategy which comprised of the unveiling of a Wedding Gift Registry app to enhance the customers’ shopping experience.

Well, a research by XO Group Inc. (formerly The Knot Inc.) in 2013 elaborated that the Bridal registry and gifting market summed up to a total value of $10 billion.

Stunning Idea No. 4:

Premium White Glove Delivery + Consultancy Included of an Interior Designer

In this competitive era, every other furniture company is providing White Glove Service, so it is time to move one step ahead of your competitors and offer a Premium White Glove Service.

In the Premium White Glove Services, add consultancy of an interior designer to guide your customer how to best position the piece of furniture they just bought, place items on it, adjust with existing furniture, additional pieces of furniture etc. If you do not have a Designer for the purpose – ask us. We already have a pool of Interior Designers willing to provide this service on hourly basis. This will also result in increased sales of additional items of your website.

The interior designer will be available on a video call or to visit your customers home.

Do not keep hidden this service. Make a prominent banner for the same and put it on the homepage.

Make a banner like below for the product pages where you wish to provide this service.

You can even include it free of cost for some high valued products.

The Revolutionary Idea No. 5:

Augmented Reality Furniture App – the Ikea Style

“ Take a Successful Selling Idea from IKEA Catalogue App “

Every business is becoming a digital business because every customer is now a digital customer. In response to the rise of the digital customer, retailers are leveraging digital technologies to reach new levels of customer engagement and competitive advantage. IKEA has taken its stand on the grounds of one of the promising areas of digital technology which is, Augmented Reality and continues to reap its benefits whilst maintaining a strong stance.

The app became the “First Augmented Reality App” in the Retail Industry to be launched in 60+ markets simultaneously

IKEA, the name must ring some bells as it is the world’s largest furniture retailer and has been for quite a while now. Founded back in 1943 by the 17 year old Ingvar Kampard, the name is an acronym for “Ingvar Kampard, Elmtaryd, Agunnaryd”, Elmtaryd being the farm he grew up in and Agunnaryd being his hometown in Sweden. It has come a long way since then and has now penetrated deep into the sea of technological innovation to keep itself ahead of the race, and it has been very successful so far.

When Ikea designed this App, it was a costly affair. But now, we have this App as pre-built for you. Just Ask Now…

The Indispensable Idea No. 6:

Integrated Furniture eCommerce Mobile app

Furniture is something which can be bought only after someone browse your catalogue at the ease of his time. It is not a decision like buying a garment, the decision of which can be taken at the spur of a moment after briefly checking a few designs. Furniture is an expensive item and is replaced not so often.

So, it is best, if you give your customers as many platforms to interact with your products as possible, which range from eCatalogue, Mobile App, eCommerce Website, Facebook, Instagram, Blogs, YouTube etc.

In the current digital scenario, out of all of the above, a Mobile App is an indispensable marketing tool as only a Mobile App has the unique advantage that once customer gets glued to your mobile app, he is not having an easy way to switch to one of your competitors. Whereas, websites, Facebook, Instagram, blogs, YouTube etc. – all have the major drawback that a customer quickly moves to a competitor.

An App helps you to be constantly in touch with your customer and keep sending her the new designs as notifications. It will help you better connect with your prospective and existing customers, announce brand new products, keep notifying products of their interest, and hottest deals too.

The Indispensable Idea No. 7:

Furniture is not a Piece of Garment – Need Supporting Functions to get an Add to Cart

Leave apart the first time buyers, even an internet savvy buyer gets hesitated while buying online costly and heavy items like furniture, diamonds etc. So, to ensure online sales, you need to provide a well documented Buying Guide to your customers, boldly display returns policy, surely provide an instant chat facility, great if you can provide a telephonic support and sales number as well.

Ensure on your mobile skin to provide a single click call / sms function on the product page itself. Ideally it should be a Sticky button – always fixed at the footer of the page.

Pocket Friendly Idea No. 8:

Get Integrated a Retail Finance Option in your Checkout Process :-

Being a Costly Affair, there are customers who are willing to buy furniture from you but are not having finances ready. Tie up with Financial Institutions. There are many these days who offer ready financing to eCommerce Companies including the PayPal’s – Pay Later facility.

Other names to reckon with in the retail finance industry are Klarna, Zibby, DekoPay, V12 Retail Finance, Divide Buy.

PayPal’s 6 Months No Interest Credit Option is also widely popular.

Point No. 9 – Still Matters Most:

High Quality Images with Zoom In Functionality

Images have the first impact. A site which displays bold and clear pictures of furniture items sell more even if its pricing is a bit more than the competitors. Images build trust.

Is this the furniture item I am looking for? Is this the accurate dimension? Is the color exact as shown? Such doubts arise in the mind of visitors when they view the products on display at an online store. High quality and professionally shot photographs of furniture items help to allay such apprehensions of visitors.
It is very true in case of Furniture where return and replacement is not easy.

Also, the engaging photographs fuel the urge to buy a piece of furniture. Zoom in facility helps to view the minute details. Zoom is effective only if the image is of high resolution and detailing.

The crucial Idea No. 10

Show Product Dimensions in Pictorial Form

Product Dimensions Matter most in case of Furniture. It is an item which is not easily replaceable. Being high costs involved in shipping you also need to ensure least returns. So, providing your customers with a detailed Dimension of each product and if possible in pictorial form like below will help your customer to take the buying decision quickly.

Ask Us Now to get a Free Evaluation of your Furniture eCommerce Store by our experienced and seasoned business consultants.