Customers are becoming more open to buying furniture online. The furniture and household industry is the ninth fastest growing online industry in the US, with an annual growth rate of 14.8% from 2012-2017.
One reason is because the internet gives retailers opportunities that are otherwise difficult to provide to customers. In this blog post, I will introduce one important and growing trend in the furniture industry which is customized furniture.
According to furniture.about.com the demand from customers to create and design furniture is increasing. Thanks to new technological developments, furniture companies can cater to this trend through 3D visualization, at a fraction of the cost of what this type of technology would cost just a few years ago.
In this blog post, I will give an example of how customers’ customization demands can be met.
Furniture Builder
The Cylindo Furniture Builder gives customers a unique possibility to virtually build furniture like modular sofas or wardrobes in real-time 3D. Basically, customers can add sections to a sofa or wardrobe, change the legs or arms, add different features, change colors, etc.
Instead of using a lot of space in-store, the Furniture Builder makes it easier for the retailers to show the many different combination options available. A great way to make customers feel in charge is the dynamic pricing feature, which means the displayed price changes during the building process, keeping the customers fully informed.
Design projects are easily saved at any time, so whether the customer is at home or in-store, they can access their design.
Why is this trend growing?
When people buy a house or an apartment it’s probably a dream come true for many. The way they furnish their home is often viewed as a reflection of their own personality. Therefore it’s very important that the house or apartment is well furnished in order to convey the right message.
Software, like the Furniture Builder, gives customers more influence on how the furniture is going to look and this gives them more control over how their dream is being realized. Behavioral psychologists have found that being involved in the design and creation process increases our sense of pride and we apply greater value to items where we have played a part in the creation.
According to Freshhome, another reason this trend is growing is the increasing need for people to express their individual sense of style, this is more and more often seen expressed through customized furniture.
The opportunity to customize products makes it’s easier to meet these specific customer requirements and show how they can have their style shine through.
Here is an example of how a requirement could be met with the Furniture Builder. Say a customer has fallen in love with the look of a “normal” 2 or 3 person sofa. Now say for example that what they really want is a corner sofa and they don’t like the legs on this sofa. Then the customer can add a corner section to the sofa and change the legs as well. This way they are easily able to get a sofa that fits their needs because they can actually able to see what the changes are going to look like.
The customers get exactly what they want and the retailer can offer virtually unlimited customization options. A win/win for all.
