Show your online presence in the furniture market
Having a mobile application for business is an added advantage as you can have your online presence and reach your target audience easily with less spending. You can gain better brand recognition by being online.
Low maintenance cost
With an online furniture shop, you will get virtual customers who may not need much assistance from your shop manager. All details will be clearly explained along with the high-resolution images.
Also, you may not need an office space to run your business. From the back end of the platform, you can efficiently manage your furniture shop. Thus, you can save huge maintenance costs by going online.
Better customer service
By creating a furniture eCommerce website, you can support your customers 24/7. Multiple communication channels will be integrated with the platform and this will let customers stay in touch with your team anytime. They will get instant support for all their queries and this will enhance their satisfaction with your brand.
Unlimited income potential
When you create a furniture eCommerce website, you can integrate multiple revenue channels with the website that will assure you get better returns. You can add multiple sellers by using a multivendor marketplace script and get a commission on each sale they make through your platform.
You can have a better subscription/membership plan and allow members to access premium features at an additional cost.
How to start an online furniture business?
Now we have reached the important session and you should be eager to find ways in building your online furniture business. We will assist you through simple steps that will make you find the perfect solution to building an online furniture shop.
Choose your business model
This is the initial stage you need to decide before you create a furniture eCommerce website. This will let you frame your platform that will support your business operation in a hassle-free way. There are various aspects you need to decide on prior as some of those key factors are listed below.
Furniture Manufacturer – If you are a manufacturer, then you will be selling your make on your platform without letting others’ products on your website. So, while creating a furniture eCommerce website, it should be a single platform that will sell your products alone and the features will be integrated accordingly.
Furniture reseller – Here, you will be selling multiple products from multiple brands. Some resellers will be more specific with certain brands or quality and they will choose products accordingly. So, while creating a furniture eCommerce website, you need to frame features with multiple products and brands in mind.
Furniture dropshipper – It is a popular dropshipping method where the seller will not have any warehouse with his products. You can be an intermediary between the manufacturer and the customer and can let the manufacturer ship their products directly to the concerned customer and can be free from the hassle of handling the inventory.
Choose your niche
You need to understand that the furniture market is huge and thousands of competitors were already playing well in the market. To survive in this competitive industry, you should focus on any specific audience to get a hold of the market and compete with others.
If you analyze your competitors, you will come to know that they have a specific focus on any particular make or product. You can find particular sellers selling antique products, some will stick to eco-friendly materials. Likewise, there are many other aspects that you need to focus on and some key aspects are mentioned below for your understanding.
- Furniture usage: Interior furniture, commercial-use furniture for offices, outdoor furniture, home furniture, etc.
- Product types: Dining tables, sofa sets, chairs, beds and mattresses, computer tables, etc.
- Furniture style: Modern, vintage, eco-friendly, rustic, minimalistic, etc.
- Target audience: Students, families with the budget, building owners, business owners, etc.
When you become more specific, then you will find less competition in the market. However, make sure the niche you choose has a huge target audience that will get you good footfall and better returns.
Create a furniture eCommerce website
With all the information gained so far, it is time to implement them and build an online furniture shop to reach your audience. You need to find a perfect furniture shopping app development company and partner with them to create a furniture eCommerce website and mobile application.
You can build your online furniture shop from scratch which is very time-consuming and expensive, or you can choose a reliable eCommerce website script that will get you an online furniture shop within a few days and in a cost-effective way.
Tips to build an online furniture shop
Build an eye-catching brand – The brand will be recognized by your audience and customers for a very long time, so, make sure you build a catchy logo and build a brand identity that will stay for a long period.
Use high-quality images – Customers completely rely on the product image you have posted on your furniture website. They cannot touch and feel the product, only they can get some understanding about the product through the image. So, make it clear and post it in high resolution.
Effective content – Your product description should be precise and should give your audience a clear understanding. This is possible only with an effective content management system. You need to keep updating your content and make your site to be more engaging.
Create marketing channels – While creating a furniture eCommerce website, you need to integrate multiple marketing tools in your website that will help you to promote your website easily. You need to understand SEO trends and should build an SEO-friendly site.
Integrate all essential features into your furniture website
People prefer to visit online furniture stores than offline furniture stores mainly because they can get to access more features that will enhance their experience with the brand. Before you create a furniture eCommerce website, you need to be clear what all features that are to be integrated with your platform.
Must-have features
Rich media graphics – This is very essential to grab the attention of your audience. Your presentation of products needs to be impressive to make your audience buy them instantly. So, you need to use high-resolution rich-media graphics.
Virtual try-on – This is where we need to use augmented reality (AR) that will let customers check whether the product fits into the actual space they want to place the product. This feature is getting more responses as it helps customers to decide on buying the right product and reduces product returns.
Furniture customization – Product size expectation differs from customer to customer. You cannot have a fixed size and design for all users. You need to be flexible in delivering furniture. Make sure you have a customization feature that will let customers have the product of their preference.
Product categorization – Streamlining your products is very crucial while creating a furniture eCommerce website. This will let customers easily find the product page with just a few clicks. This will enhance user experience and save their time in searching for the product.
Exchange and return policy – Return and exchange often happen in any online furniture business as they may find the product not suitable at their place. Customers will expect an exchange and return policy that will facilitate them to have a hassle-free product return.
Shipping and installation – This needs more attention as shipping is the major concern for any furniture business. Your platform should mention the shipping charges and if installation support is needed then that can also cost extra.
Customer reviews – Customers should have the privilege of sharing their feedback about the product they have purchased from your platform and the service received from your end. This can also get you more business if the reviews are positive.
Promote your online furniture business
Now you are all set for launching your furniture store and promoting your brand which is the final stage in furniture shopping app development. First, you need to identify where your target audience is available. As far as the furniture business is concerned, most of the target audience will be available on Facebook or Instagram. So, you need to focus on those channels and get their attention.
SEO – Your platform should be SEO-friendly and it will help you in getting the search engine page ranking easily and your website will be listed on top of all searches. This will get you organic traffic to your website.
Google Ads- This comes under the search engine marketing option as you need to pay on Google Ads and your website will be listed on the top of the search pages. This will get your brand greater visibility and will get you instant traffic.
Affiliate marketing – This marketing method is getting trendier in recent days as you can have affiliates promote your brand on their social media pages. Whoever comes to your platform through their link will be accounted for their commission.
Offline advertising – Although more focus will be given to digital marketing, still you should not completely ignore the offline advertising option. You can provide leaflets and can place ads on TV channels that will get the audience’s attention.
Get your online furniture app development with Appkodes
Appkodes is a premium furniture shopping mobile app development company that assures supreme customer experience through its 9+ years of experience in this furniture industry. You can get a world-class furniture eCommerce platform with extensive features and kick-start your online furniture business.
Appkodes can support building an online furniture shop from scratch or even users can get the most reliable furniture eCommerce script that will hold all the essential functionalities to run a furniture business online. Get connected with our team and book your free demo today.
