Whether you need a small stool or a king sized bed, you can buy all kinds of furniture online. Like the brick and mortar variants, online furniture stores range from boutiques with designer furniture to aggregator stores with mass produced styles. The advantages of shopping online are many – there’s a lot more to choose from, it’s much more convenient since your furniture gets delivered home and probably the most important, the prices are comparatively lower. This raises the question – how do online furniture retailers offer lower prices without cutting corners on quality?
Lower operating costs
There’s a high cost involved in setting up a brick and mortar furniture store. Firstly, you need a large store and an even larger warehouse. This means high rentals. Next, there are operating costs to be considered like electricity, air conditioning, water, etc. Thirdly, there are salaries that must be paid to sales and maintenance staff. All of these costs contribute to the pricing of furniture. Now, let’s look at the operating costs of an online store. Once a website is designed, the cost of hosting it is negligible compared to the rental of a store front. Retailers still need a warehouse but this can be located anywhere. Overheads like electricity and salaries for sales staff gets cut down too. Thus, the cost of production is lowered and retailers can pass on their savings to customers in the form of discounts and special packages. If you’re buying a lot of furniture, for example, if you’re furnishing a new home or an office, you may be eligible for further discounts since the retailer can cut down on the shipping costs.
More cost-effective marketing
Apart from the monthly expenses incurred by furniture retailers, there are also marketing costs that must be considered while pricing a product. Online marketing costs are much lower than offline marketing. With social media and PPC campaigns, the ROI is much higher and retailers can attract a wider audience with minimal expense. You should also note that the retailer can display as many designs as he wants on the website and thus does not have to constantly refresh the look of the store by bringing in new pieces from the warehouse. Thus, again, the brands save costs which they can pass on to customers.
Shopping for furniture online is thus the most convenient and cost effective way to furnish your home. Do not assume that just because the price is lower, you will get sub-standard quality furniture. A good furniture retailer understands the importance of quality control and will always ensure that his products meet the highest quality standards so as to retain the loyalty of his customers. As a customer what you need to ensure is that the brand has a respected reputation, provides good after sales service for any installation needs or quality issues that may arise and uses good quality material. So, instead of spending all day walking in and out of stores, browse through online furniture stores and pick a piece of furniture that matches your home décor style. Happy shopping!