Furniture ecommerce is an integral part of today’s furniture industry and it is expected to continue to grow throughout the next decade. Therefore, it is important to consider your business’ online experience when you create your overall growth strategy.
To keep up with the competition, you need a robust solution designed to support your business every step of the way. Below, we’ll discuss the top five features to have in a furniture ecommerce platform.
Five Big Ticket Features Needed for Furniture Ecommerce
1. Catalog Management Tools Designed for Complexity
One of the most important questions to ask when comparing furniture ecommerce platforms is, “Does this platform have the ability to manage the robust product catalogs of a successful furniture retailer?”
Not all product information management systems can support the unique needs of furniture retailers. In fact, many are very rigidly built, preventing you from having the ability to manage your assortment effectively.
On the other hand, an ecommerce solution built specifically for furniture retailers should include native big-ticket features such as an effective PIM (product information system). With powerful catalog management tools, you can make your online product displays visually appealing and be able to manage products by variations, collections, and more.
2. Omnichannel-first Technology for Consistency
Furniture purchases increasingly include both in-person and online experiences as consumers have become more channel-agnostic. An omnichannel-first platform helps your shoppers move seamlessly from one channel to the next without losing their progress. For example, a customer may have already purchased at your brick-and-mortar store and then goes online for additional accent pieces. Or, a customer may be researching products online before heading to your store.
A furniture ecommerce platform should enable you to display important product information that aligns with the information your furniture sales team utilizes in the store. Your furniture business can then provide consistent product information and user experiences across every touchpoint.
3. Advanced Search & Sort for Research and Purchase
With omnichannel shoppers, you can expect online website users to be in various stages of the buyer’s journey. In fact, you need to be prepared for a customer who may be browsing your site during their in-store visit.
Website visitors need to be able to find what they are looking for efficiently and effectively, which is essential for a stellar user experience. Advanced searching and sorting features of an innovative furniture ecommerce platform include the ability to add customs filters and sorting, on-the-fly landing page creation, and promotional messaging.
When your entire site is optimized to respond to shopping segments and offer personalization, advanced search and sort will put information at your shoppers’ fingertips so they can search, research, and purchase.
4. Geolocation for Localized Experiences
Creating an online experience that reflects your shoppers’ local store allows online shoppers to receive a personalized experience throughout their shopping journey. The ability to geotarget website visitors enables you to create content that is most relevant to your customer while also allowing accurate pricing and shipping information.
When a customer receives information relevant to them, this can improve their shopping experience and encourage brand loyalty.
5. Robust Promotional Tools for Cohesive Messaging
As more shoppers transition back and forth between online and in-person shopping, cohesive messaging is critical and your furniture ecommerce platform needs to have robust tools to create discounts and promotions consistent with your brick-and-mortar sales.
The best software will enable you to intuitively build online promotions, schedule them to start at a set time, and schedule them to end or change to a new promotion. You can also define where the messaging will appear, from your homepage to product pages, with the ability to highlight more than one promotion at a time with powerful text and engaging imagery.
Explore What Makes a Furniture Ecommerce Platform World-class
Finding a furniture ecommerce platform, like Blueport, with these top features can help your business provide a better experience for your shoppers no matter how they proceed on their buyer’s journey. Discover more ways to elevate your omnichannel ecommerce strategy with the complementary Furniture Ecommerce Software guide.
