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> Living on the Top Line - The Book > Discussions > Selling Furniture OnLine
Selling Furniture OnLine| Author | | admin
8/13/2009
2:48:25 PM | I've been doing a lot of asking around on this issue and I don't think there's any doubt that in the immediate and short-term future every furniture retailer is going to have to open up sales to online purchasers. I think that if you don't do it, someone else in your market will, and you'll lose customers you otherwise would have sold. Plus, you won't have much of a long-term future.
Having a long list of satsified customers is one of the foundation purposes of every business, and losing even a few in your market area who can become a raving fan of your store and spread the word, is critical to long-term success.
The belief among a lot of the retail people I talk to is that their customers, meaning the ones they've alsways served, won't buy online because they need to touch and feel, sit in and physically touch the furniture they buy.
Problem is that the ones they've always served won't be the ones they'll be serving in the future -meaning, like, tomorrow.
I'd like some feedback on this from anyone who has a opinion either way. | drimsky
8/13/2009
8:56:30 PM | As a web designer, I can only say that any business not on the internet will not be in business for long. The relationship between a brick and mortar location and the corresponding web presences is essential for generating business in the current market place. One of my clients is a seasonal gift shop; it does year round web business and still gets walk in traffic. Also web customers now make the shop a destination in there vacation plans. There is simply no excuse for any business to not have a functional and attractive showroom on the Web. | ljmessman
8/14/2009
12:32:25 PM | We will be posting prices begining October 1st. If I get vendor permission I will be selling at the very least lighting, accessories and occasional furniture over the internet. | dbolger
8/16/2009
2:53:21 PM | Many retailers think they can get into the online world without consideration of the realities of delivery and potential returns. Some of the realities include the geographical area you will sell, how to price delivery, the level of delivery service to be offered and what to do when the customer is unhappy. Failure to give careful thought to these issues will result in disastrous consequences. You must be online today to provide full information about your offerings. Beyond that, there are numerous options that will make or break you on the operations side. It ranges from the product packaging suitability for various transportation modes, the geographical area you will deliver all the way to handling returns when the customer has already disposed of the packaging materials. We can help in all the operations area. Dan Bolger | | |
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