Online furniture market trends for 2020
5 key trends for e-tailers to watch
What is the current state of the online furniture market?
Retailers must look to the web for growth drivers
The slight downturn that began in 2018 has set off alarm bells among furniture market players. Retailers need to reinvent themselves and look for other growth relays, at the risk of suffering difficult situations like Fly, Conforama or recently Habitat, whose 31 stores in Europe and 39 franchises are up for sale.
Naturally, furniture brands are turning to the Internet to find their customers. Every year, there are 1.5 million new cyber-buyers (source: Médiamétrie), and the online furniture market is worth almost 1.2 billion euros.
So But is turning to the web to find a new growth driver, and is launching its own marketplace. The same goes for Maison du Monde, which has managed to withstand the crisis in the furniture sector thanks to the support of the web – an important growth relay, since it accounted for 23% of its sales in 2018.
And to prove that the internet market remains highly promising, the Made furniture pure player is launching in 4 new countries, motivated by its 37% growth in 2018.
furniture market share on the internet and in the entire furniture sector
Competition is therefore fierce. Given the size of the online furniture market and its relatively low barriers to entry, new entrants are also very numerous. The FEVAD, for example, has counted +18% active sites for the 2nd quarter of 2019.
However, IPEA Managing Director Christophe Gazel notes “a loss of momentum in e-commerce, which needs to find new growth drivers and tell a different story by creating value from online sales.”
It’s up to brands to renew their marketing strategies and come up with new ideas that will enable them to secure their place in this highly competitive online furniture market.
Click and collect, for example, is a service that is highly appreciated by consumers: 80% of those who have used it feel that it has improved their shopping experience. But there are many others. Here are the 5 trends that will shake up the online furniture market in 2020.
#1 – Mobile commerce
According to Statista, the total population accessing the internet from their mobiles passed the symbolic 4 billion mark in April 2019, and by 2020, 45% of online purchases will be made from a mobile. So it’s vital for e-merchants to make sure their sites are absolutely mobile-friendly. Internet users are volatile, so mobile browsing must be intuitive and pleasant from the very first visit.
To break into the online furniture market, retailers can create a mobile version separate from the web version, allowing them to customize an entirely mobile-centric user experience.
Alternatively, he can opt for a responsive site design, which adapts to the smartphone screen. This will require hiring a developer to adjust the existing site’s CSS/HTML code.
The mobile version and responsive site will help companies achieve better SEO rankings, as the Google Mobile-First algorithm gives priority to mobile websites.
Finally, businesses can opt for a mobile app – it’s easy to use, loads quickly and offers users more convenient payment options. In addition, apps enable retailers to re-engage inactive customers by sending them push notifications offering discounts or showcasing new furniture. In this way, customers are more inclined to return to the online store.
#2 – Data-driven personalization
Among the barriers to entry in the online furniture market, the overabundance of information produced daily by competitors makes it difficult to reach new customers. Today, to attract the attention of an Internet user, you need to be able to touch them on a personal level.
Based on data, which includes demographics, interests, tastes and even the items customers previously interacted with in an online store, brands can make more personalized offers. They can, for example, present a piece of furniture in an atmosphere that particularly appeals to the customer and encourages them to buy.
A powerful way to exploit data is to use email marketing. To harvest emails, users could be invited to register on the website to use a shopping cart. In the event that the visitor adds a product to the basket and leaves without purchasing, e-tailers can send them an email with a reminder.
Conveying a sense of urgency in the reminder message, saying for example that the item is only available in limited quantities, can push the customer to buy. And if they don’t buy, they can be offered a discount or free delivery in the next reminder e-mail.
You can also consider adding e-mail addresses to retargeting lists and running relevant ads on Google and Facebook, based on their interaction with the site, to increase the number of “qualified” visitors.
#3 – Visual marketing optimized by 3D visuals
With the help of 3D renderings, manufacturers can obtain a large number of quality furniture photos without the need for expensive photo shoots. Starting with a photo taken with a smartphone, a 3D visualization agency can produce any type of visual – lifestyle, packshot, group photos, clipped image, etc. – without the need for expensive photo shoots.
For photorealistic furniture visualizations, 3D artists model the product to create images showing the room from any angle. Whatever type of image the brand needs – a photo on a white background or a 3D staging – 3D visualization can give it an ultra-realistic quality.
This method – modeling the furniture and creating the scene – enables multiple variations to be achieved at lower cost. For example, the textures of a piece of furniture can be used in the same staging, or the same model can be used in a staging with a slightly modified decor (floor, wall color, decorative objects, etc.). This enables e-tailers to obtain new visuals for seasonal advertising campaigns. In this way, 3D visualization services save time, money and effort for players in the online furniture market.
#4 – Product personalization
In 2020, the internet furniture market is turning resolutely towards product personalization. It allows consumers to obtain products made to measure according to their needs and tastes. And who wouldn’t appreciate that? Instead of settling for what’s available, the buyer participates in the creation process. For example, furniture brands offer potential customers the chance to change the color, finish material and add decoration to objects directly on the website – showing the end result from different angles depending on the options chosen.
To present this type of service on its site, a retailer simply needs to order a 3D model of its furniture and its various variations (colors, textures, etc.). These will be integrated into the presentation software, enabling customers to order exactly what they want.
#5 – online furniture trends: augmented reality
When it comes to buying a sofa online, people tend to hesitate – it’s a major purchase. The fear of ending up with a sofa that doesn’t fit in the living room and having to return it drives many potential buyers to physical stores.
Augmented reality is the ideal tool to help customers visualize their future purchase in their own space. Today, all you have to do is take a photo of your living room and use the application to see the piece of furniture take its place in your interior.
Augmented reality applications allow buyers to interact with furniture online. They can rotate the pieces, size them and arrange them in a real living space. In this way, users check whether the item fits in the room, and try out different colors and textures by pointing the smartphone camera at the desired locations. By playing around with the layout, customers can even furnish the entire living space while staying at home and discussing each decision with the whole family. As a result, this technology is making customers more confident about buying furniture online, leading to an increase in e-commerce sales, and therefore in the internet furniture market.
These 5 trends in the internet furniture market offer brands the opportunity to increase online sales, marketing ROI and convert visitors into buyers. Access to mobile e-commerce will enable online stores to reach a wider audience, while personalization options will help strengthen customer loyalty.
Another important trend to consider is 3D visualization, which optimizes workflow while providing high-quality visuals. Finally, there are augmented reality technologies – an e-commerce trend that blurs the boundary between online and offline commerce, allowing consumers to visualize objects in a real-life space.
