The Changing Face of Furniture Retailing

The pandemic significantly shifted consumer behaviour in the furniture industry, with online shopping becoming more common as stores closed. Previously, large, high-cost items like furniture required in-store visits for final decision-making due to concerns about returns and needing to see products in person. What has resulted is an acceleration in consumer willingness to buy furniture online and an increasing role for technology in enabling their decision-making.

This whitepaper, written in partnership with Chaos Cylindo, examines those changes in more detail, with expert insight and exclusive interviews and case studies from Joybird, Sofa Club and Monte Design Group.

Inside the White Paper

The whitepaper begins by examining the state of the market today and how it’s recovered from the challenges that followed the pandemic, including supply chain disruptions and the cost-of-living crisis, which hit consumers’ buying ability.

We then explore the customer journey in furniture retailing in detail, identifying the wider barriers to conversion than just its sensory aspects, such as the challenges of lead times and affordability.

We explore how understanding the different stages of the buyer journey helps identify the triggers to convert. Clarity of product details is vital. As part of this, online visualisation and 3D tools play a key role.

The role of new, enhanced online experience, should it be used to complement rather than replace the instore experience?

We look at how successful furniture retailers also have a store presence are increasingly incorporating such visualisation tools instore too.

Retailer Case Studies

Inside the report we examine the tactics of Joybird, Sofa Club and Monte Design Group in more detail, and look at what the future might hold, and the additional market changes that AI will bring.