How is the Furniture Market Transforming with Recent Trends?

The furniture industry has gone through a multitude of changes and developments during the historical period.

The sudden occurrence of COVID-19 had a dominant role in the shifting traditions in the furniture market. With the majority of the world’s population staying at home, people’s interest in improving the look and function of their house has led to a surge in demand of furniture and other decorative items.

This urged the companies in the market to change their practices to meet the rising demand. As this situation was unfolding, the e-commerce industry was proliferating with people staying in their homes and online shopping provided a great alternative to buy the necessary products.

It is very important to adapt to the evolving market practices while keeping a strong and direct hold on customer communications. The developments in 3D product visualisation helped to maintain communications significantly.

So, the question arises, how can the manufacturers in the furniture market keep up and expand their business with the number of changes?

Here are the top trends to keep watch on and utilise to optimise the systems and evolve their services.

Digitisation of the Market

This first and most prominent trend to notice is that most people look for a seamless shopping experience. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the online shopping market. Although people still go to physical stores, e-commerce has been increasingly gaining prevalence.

The majority of the target consumer include the younger generation, who prefer the convenience of home delivery and pre-assembled furniture.

Many major companies are providing their products through popular platforms or are creating their own platform, providing a better experience.

Customisation and Enhanced Workflow

As the millennials grow up and become independent, customising their house with furniture would become a prevailing factor. Companies have started to leverage artificial intelligence for automation and customisation.

This will enable companies to deliver customised pieces of furniture with increased speed of production while controlling the manufacturing expenditure.

Increasing Influence of Social Media in Furniture Market

In the recent years, social media has become a major source of advertisement as major platforms like Facebook and Instagram act as e-commerce platforms too. They allow companies to make a business profile and sell their manufactured products.

Social media platforms utilise machine learning that allows the buyer to search for specific products and improves the searchability of the companies. These platforms give a significant boost to companies, helping them reach a wider range of customers.

3D Models and Augmented Reality

This is one of the latest trends in the market and has helped greatly to improve the buyer experience. With 3D models and augmented reality, customers can get a better picture of the furniture piece.

Augmented reality (AR) is especially helpful for the furniture company, giving exceptional interaction to customers. Through AR, people can check the product in better detail.

Hybrid Business Model of Online and In-Store Services

For a business, multi-platform is always better than single-platform business operations. It enhances the company’s marketplace reach, enabling them to capture more audiences. This combination makes it possible for the companies to provide 3D visualisation and customisation for customers.

The higher the interaction and customisation option provided, the better customer attraction and ROI the companies will gain.

Top Companies in the Furniture Market Adopting these Trends

IKEA

It has become one of the most know furniture companies, boasting over 10,000 products on their website. They were one of the first companies to implement AR.

You can simply take a photo of your room or floor, and their app can recommend the matching furniture.

The fanciest function is visual search, allowing you to search for similar products to what you already own.

Amazon

The amazon app allows its users to use the “View in your room” option, a great feature that lets you see the product in your room in augmented reality. The updated version even allows you to check multiple items at once.

Wayfair

Wayfair was also one of the first leading companies to adopt augmented reality (AR) in their shopping app.

They provide an advanced and improved shopping experience with extra features, enabling the virtual objects to cast shadows, real-time lighting and more.

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