Ever wondered why consumers visit shopping sites like Alibaba and Amazon for their purchases?
Well, it is because they can literally have the same shopping experience they would have if they were to visit physical stores.
Furniture retailers use their website to offer services that are originally not available in-store.
These services include engaging content that helps online shoppers narrow down their choices and interactive tool which pulls customers closer for in-store purchase.
This gives customers a full and improved experience and reduces the cost of setting up showrooms for their experiences.
This way, instead of a sales representative helping them narrow down their choices, the online furniture showroom gives them the exact result, all in the nick of time and conveniently so.
However, it appears the opposite is what is experienced here in the Nigerian online furniture retailers.
People would prefer going to physical to get furniture because they ponder on a question like “what’s the point of shopping online when I can’t get a good representation of these furniture pieces?”
The furniture industry in Nigeria has remained largely physical for that reason. Some of the few that are online have refused to evolve.
Little wonder why a significant part of the sector appears to be lacking in creativity.
For online furniture retailers to change consumer perceptions and entice prospective customers to their stores, they need to set up virtual furniture showrooms.
Augmented reality should be employed to enable customers to see the furniture products as though they were physically in the showroom thereby giving them the opportunity to visualize them – colors, texture and all.
Taeillo and Skarabrand are examples of online furniture showrooms that are poised to take over the market using technological tools.
Taeillo was founded by Jumoke Dada In 2016. It leverages technology via virtual reality to deliver a first-hand feel of furniture to customers as though they could physically see it and touch it.
Skarabrand was founded in 2015 by Raymond Umeh and it is a brand that provides an online catalogue for customers to preview, choose and purchase a wide variety of furniture, all tailored to their taste.
Technology is fast transforming the furniture-making sector. Retailers need to hop on the trend and explore the many possibilities VR has to offer for the online furniture showroom.
Customer experience can be augmented with technology and this has been proven time and again.
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