Best tools to boost sales of furniture online

The furniture industry has faced many obstacles in recent years. Many companies have quickly undergone a deep digital transformation and adapted to the market where online sales play an increasingly important role.

Global development of furniture sales in ecommerce channels

Although 2021 was a very good year for the furniture market in terms of revenues, 2022 was already more difficult, sales fell, forcing companies to make further changes. However, looking at the forecasts for the coming years, revenues from the furniture industry will grow (USD 769.59 billion in 2023), and online channels will account for an increasing share of sales.

According to Insider Intelligence, in 2020 global ecommerce sales amounted to 4.213 billion USD, in 2022 it is already 5.545 billion. In 2023, it is projected to be 6.169 billion USD with 22.3% of total retail sales.

The high availability of many tools for online sales enables the rapid development of this channel for all industries. The first step is to choose an ecommerce platform tailored to our needs, e.g. Open Source (Presta, Woocommerce) or SAAS (Shopify, Shoper). Then, it is worth focusing on the convenience of shopping (simple process, payment methods, returns and delivery), matching the product to the recipient's expectations and enabling the best possible product experience.

High-quality content with 3D models

Competition in the online retail market is so great that it forces the selection and dynamic improvement of tools in terms of the requirements of today's buyers. And as analysts note, the millennials will contribute to the long-term growth of the furniture market, as they will be preparing to buy and furnish their first house or apartment in the coming years. This group has high expectations regarding the quality and flexibility of the entire purchasing process.

One of the basic challenges of ecommerce is high-quality content, static photos are not enough to engage and convince the customer about the purchase. Especially when choosing furniture online, a big barrier for customers is the inability to get to know the exact appearance of the product "live", from all sides.

This is where tools using 3D content come in handy. 3D models offer a lot of possibilities in terms of marketing and B2B communication.

Thanks to 3D models, you can easily create 360 photos, product configurators, product visualization, animations and web Augmented Reality (AR). These tools are crucial to attract the customer's attention by giving the best possible substitute for a direct experience with the product.

Quality 3D content allows customers to see the product from every side and in all product variants, e.g. size, materials or colors used.

On the other hand, product visualization in webAR (without the need to install a separate application on the phone) allows you to display the piece of furniture using your phone at home or in the office, even before the purchase.

This is a breakthrough functionality in online shopping, helping customers make quick decisions regarding the purchase of a product. The AR service has already become a standard tool used by many companies in the furniture, fashion, industrial and medical industries. AR product visualization reflects much better than photos how the product looks in reality, what size it has, how it works, etc.

All these tools can be implemented on most ecommerce platforms. They help in the sales process and improve the customer's shopping experience.

Examples