Furniture belongs to the “consumer durables/non-food” purchasing category. It will be used over the long-term and has a higher purchase price, which differentiates it from the traditional online channels like books. This leads to more research and comparisons done pre-purchase, which is preferably conducted online instead of visiting store after store.
Remodeling platforms and customer reviews like those offered on Houzz, design aggregation like Pinterest, and design blogs by individuals as well as companies themselves provide inspiration and curation. This is interesting because the general observation is, that when purchasing furniture, consumers tend to seek something unique and original. But at the same time often, they have a hard time articulating precisely what they want or what they are looking for, let alone the exact product and design.
This is where new technology joins the game. Not only that more customization options are available online and allow for a deeper level of differentiation that is not available in-store. But technology enables custom-made manufacturing combined with new manufacturing technologies and supply chain innovations.
Combined with room visualization and 3D-tools to picture how the designs would look like in the customers’ homes, truly custom-made furniture and unique interior design is just the click of a button away. Millennials, comfortable with purchasing online are already the largest consumer group since 2014 and increased their spending on furniture by 142% between 2012 and 2014.
What makes buying furniture in the future even more appealing is a combination of:
- The buying experience itself and the online research leading to it.
- The discovery process of what a customer actually wants.
- The possibilities to manufacture something personal, unique, and meaningful.
- Meeting and satisfying the demands of intentional consumption.
Reports cited: Fung Global Retail & Technology 2016.
