Questions Execs Should Ask When Choosing Furniture Ecommerce Software

When selecting a furniture ecommerce software for your business, you’ll have a number of options to choose from, such as licensed software with custom implementations, horizontal cloud platforms, and vertical cloud platforms, each with its own pros and cons. 

While examining these platforms, you should ask more, detailed questions to determine which option offers you the best return on investment (ROI).

Your Choice of Platform Can Have a Significant Impact on ROI

The platform you choose can significantly impact your business overall, so its return on investment is a key consideration. Here are some questions you should ask (and why you should ask them) during your search for the right furniture ecommerce software to ensure you maximize your ROI: 

1. Revenue: What is the track record of the platform increasing sales in your industry? 

In order to find the right platform for you, it’s important to examine its track record of increasing revenue for retailers like yours. 

For example, how have the different platforms you are considering helped other businesses like yours drive sales online as well as traffic and sales in brick and mortar stores?  With more consumers shopping online for furniture, you can grow your business and reach more customers both online and in stores by creating an innovative, customer-focused furniture ecommerce site. 

2. Costs: What will the startup and ongoing expense be to implement new furniture ecommerce software?

Another key consideration when adopting new software is how much it will cost. It’s important to consider current and future costs that may be related, including: 

• Cost to implement. Does the platform have what you need out of the box, or will it require expensive custom development to do what you need it to do? How much do the initial, one-time fees cost? 
• Operating costs. What's included in the ongoing fees for the platform agreement? Will you need to pay any additional costs for strategy consulting, support, hosting, security, or 3P plug-ins? 
• Employee costs. What will be the effort to train your employees on this software? Will you need to hire any new staff to run or grow your online business? 
• Maintenance costs.  Will you be responsible for managing ongoing platform improvements, routine maintenance, or similar costs? Will you need to allocate development resources for continuous improvements?
• Extra costs. Based on what's included, what else will you need? Will you need additional software to fill in any gaps? Are there any other ongoing costs that you will need to maintain the software at your organization? 

3. Risk: What is the likelihood of success for this software based on the platform’s experience in my market?

In order to get the most out of your software, you’ll want a platform that was built with your needs as a furniture retailer in mind and has a record of helping businesses similar to yours increase sales. 

For example, you’ll want comprehensive software specifically built for the furniture industry. A top platform will include seamless integration, a flexible, scalable Cloud-native architecture, and tools that enable unified omnichannel experiences for customers. By choosing a platform that has everything you need built-in, you’ll get everything you need to get a high return on your low-risk investment. 

Find the Right Ecommerce Platform for Your Furniture Business

Even after you’ve covered the ins and outs of each platform’s potential ROI, you may still have more questions about the functionality of furniture ecommerce software. Making an informed decision on what software is best for your business can be difficult — you have several options that all focus on how incredible the different products are. 

But a lot of software is created with general ecommerce in mind and don’t have the tools to solve the unique situations that your furniture business may face, including engaging with your customers through their extended buyer’s journey, managing real-time pricing and inventory, and creating an omnichannel customer experience for large, customizable online purchases. 

Top furniture cloud solutions providers will give you the tools you need to achieve your goals, improve the customer experience, and grow your business overall. For example, the right platform might provide: 

• Advice for implementing the latest marketing trends to help you reach your existing and potential customers.
• Continuous platform improvements to make sure your business always has the latest technology.  
• Support and extra resources to help you achieve your goals, improve your business, and impress your customers. 
• The ability to connect your furniture ecommerce website with 3rd party plugins that extend your functionality. 
• Tools to help implement a seamless omnichannel experience for your customers.

Explore these features and more in A Buyer’s Guide to Choosing the Right Furniture eCommerce Software today and see how you can improve your business!