here’s no question that the mobile age has arrived. Mobile devices — smartphones, iPads, tablets, etc. — are dramatically changing the way consumers shop and how furniture retailers should manage their business. It is now extremely important to be up to date with the latest techniques in marketing for furniture retailers. With 7.2 billion mobile devices worldwide and over half of all internet traffic coming from a mobile device, it’s essential for furniture retailers to adjust their website and marketing strategies to meet the demands of this massive mobile presence. Tools like location-based marketing, SMS marketing, and mobile search ads allow retailers to advertise and offer deals to their customers anywhere, anytime. But mobile marketing for furniture retailers has sparked new conversations around how they have to engage visitors and how they must approach their website as well. It’s essential that furniture retailers not only have a website, but also a website that is fully optimized for mobile usage. Without it, there’s no doubt furniture stores will miss out on significant opportunities.

Today’s furniture shopper starts with initial research by comparing products, pricing and deal options online. They may spend minutes to months browsing home furnishing websites researching that perfect mattress, piece of furniture, or appliance. Understanding what is important to consumers who are shopping for furniture, mattresses or appliances, keeping them engaged with your store’s brand and recognizing when they’re ready to buy not only provides you with valuable information, it saves time and resources. Along with those benefits, your store gains invaluable consumer data to influence future marketing and operational decisions while also building relationships.

It’s no secret that the majority of furniture shoppers start their search for new furniture online. On the Internet, modern shoppers have the ability to compare inventory, learn about shipping and assembly costs, and ultimately find those pieces they most want to purchase. Consumers expect to be able to find the information they need easily when they’re shopping online. Furniture retailers must offer a personalized digital experience that entice visitors to come into their store. We spoke to several furniture shoppers who have made a major furniture purchase within the last six months, or who plan to buy again soon. Here’s what they had to say about their experiences and expectations while shopping for furniture online.

When it comes to winning over online consumers, smaller companies often struggle to compete against large brands that dedicate considerable money and resources to advanced website technology, cloud-based marketing strategies and targeted emails. Amazon and Etsy deliver personalized shopping recommendations and remember you every time you log in. Leave something in your online shopping cart or bail in the middle of your search for a new sofa, and you’re sure to receive automated marketing emails from Wayfair or Target to remind you of your pending purchase or give you content to persuade you to return to the website. It’s inside the showroom where small businesses win the sale, by delivering personal attention and a great shopping experience that seems effortless. But how can these businesses continue to compete with large retailers when most customers now do the majority of their research and shopping online?

Capturing online website leads has become a cornerstone in the success of businesses across various industries, and the furniture retail sector is no exception. In the digital age, where consumers increasingly turn to online platforms for shopping, the importance of efficiently capturing and managing website leads cannot be overstated.

In the dynamic landscape of furniture retail, staying ahead of the competition requires more than just offering stylish and comfortable pieces. CRM systems have emerged as indispensable tools for furniture retailers, offering a strategic advantage in building lasting customer connections, enhancing operational efficiency, and driving sustained business growth.

In an era where technology is seamlessly integrated into our daily lives, the furniture retail industry is undergoing a significant transformation. Traditional brick-and-mortar stores are increasingly embracing digital innovations, and this shift is revolutionizing the way customers shop for furniture. Below describes a few key points of the importance of becoming more digital in the furniture retail industry and the benefits it brings to both retailers and consumers.

While it’s common practice for stores to target existing furniture customers with special sales and promos (a great marketing strategy, by the way), is your furniture store also capitalizing on those satisfied customers to attract new furniture customers? Here are five innovative ways furniture stores can generate new sales from existing customers by using the power of word-of-mouth marketing online.

Setting up website measurement for leading indicators of engagement takes a bit of effort, but if you’ve implemented all the previous engagement and conversion steps, you have what you need to get clear data on how well your website engagement converts into in-store sales.

When was the last time you analyzed your furniture website to see what calls to action are working and what info is outdated? Prior to analyzing and optimizing the site, many furniture store websites are cluttered, hard to search, and often don’t feature conversion tools or calls to action that entice consumers to stay on the furniture website, perform research and ultimately buy from their furniture company. At PERQ Convert, we deliver interactive website tools to furniture stores that collect trackable consumer data and help retailers convert online visits into in-store sales. Use this 5-step checklist to declutter your website, attract more buyers to your furniture store, and make your furniture store website the best in the business.

In order to increase customer engagement, there are several steps in the conversion chain that furniture retailers must hone in order to pull a website visitor to an in-store sale. Calls to Action (CTAs), interactive experiences, and offers are all examples of steps that can be improved to create more showroom sales. Testing and improving your consumer experiences to increase customer engagement is a continuous process.

Develop a sales conversion funnel for furniture customers who first shop online. For the majority of furniture shoppers who browse around online, their goal is to narrow their selections before ever having to step foot into a store. For furniture stores, the goal is to get the furniture customer into the store to make a purchase. Every time a furniture customer visits your website, it’s important to help move them closer to a purchase through the sales conversion funnel.

Taking a quiz on an online furniture retailer’s website has been proven to engage the customer to learn more about their own design style, while simultaneously, giving the furniture retailer personal insight into that buyer’s journey. PERQ Convert offers furniture retailers online quizzes to assess a customer’s design preferences, mattress fit or sofa style. By serving up furniture that matches a customer’s tastes, hobbies and current stage of life, a retailer can help narrow down the search funnel and guide the online shopping experience for them. Research also shows the longer a shopper engages with a store’s website, the more likely they are to buy from that store. PERQ Convert’s research shows interactive experiences increase engagement time from an average of 3 minutes per session to 12 minutes or higher. Online furniture retailers that utilize software with online quizzes and research tools that engage with consumers paired with the right lead follow up strategy, has been proven to be the key to increasing sales.

Receiving an influx of leads shouldn’t be a problem… after all these leads could become a customer. Follow these furniture lead management tips to turn those online visitors into in-store sales.

How AI Can Improve Your Home Furnishings Website

It all begins with an idea.

Tracking every home furnishing customer’s journey, from website to inside the store, isn’t easy. Yet, CRM Software exists to help you and shoppers on your website stay on the same page. Easily follow up with online leads by centralizing data in a single platform that prioritizes follow up on website leads, tracks your team’s activity and increases sales.

It all begins with an idea.