Can Virtual Technology Help In Reshaping The Future Of Furniture Retailing

The internet has emerged as a powerful tool for gathering information and enabling communication, thus impacting a rising population of cross-country markets. With the ever growing demand of online shopping, retailers have to step up their technology solutions to match the demand and expectation of the consumers. As more consumers started favoring innovative technology when it comes to shopping, retail commerce has also stepped up their game by introducing virtual technology that changed the face of retail shopping.

The concept was budding among the retail chains from the last few years but it was the pandemic that compelled everyone to take the leap and accept this new technology as the main means of selling their products. Furniture and furnishing industry was one of the most affected industries as most of their business was dependent on the footfall of their store. With the decrease in the number of customers walking in their store it was difficult to maintain a stable revenue and manage high store rent given the size of the displayed products.

Furnishing products manufacturers and retailers have been able to sell their furnishing products with great success lately owing to the virtual technology. Virtual technology has entirely changed the way consumers shop for furnishing products today. With 3D visualisation of products on real time backgrounds it's easier to put a finger on the products you like and make the selling procedure easier on both retailer and consumer front.

Virtual reality systems have garnered significant attention because they can create realistic experiences. In VR, a computer-generated simulation environment, individuals experience the virtual objects and scenes as real, fully immersing them in the three-dimensional (3D) environment. With Virtual Reality, users can rotate, zoom in & zoom out, change the color and context of the products they view. It’s a massive revolution unfolding much less like a bang and instead more like a slow but powerful shift in the tectonic plates.

How VR technology is Disrupting Furniture and Furnishing Retail

The decision-making process involved in buying furniture and furnishing products has always been complex. Traditional brick-and-mortar stores end up with a limited number of display inventory as they are limited by space, diverse tastes of the consumers, bulky nature of the product etc. Today, consumers look out for engaging experiences while shopping whether it's online or offline. This is where virtual technology comes in to change the game. There have been a lot of studies to show that virtual experiences have a positive effect on consumers’ emotional responses, buying intention, product learning, brand preferences, etc.

Virtual technology offers customers the information that was not possible to achieve previously in physical stores, enabling customers to select what they want to view and how they want to view is how the industry has evolved overtime. Virtual technology has made its presence felt in every industry but it is extremely effective for bulky products like furniture and furnishings that need a visual inspection. With visualisation of products in virtual backgrounds customers are not only allowed to do a close inspection of the product but also visually inspect the coordination of furniture, which is not possible in physical stores

The potential uses of this technology even go beyond moving furniture in a room, it can also walk customers through home improvement projects like painting walls in different colors, laying tiles in the bathroom, or operating a hedge trimmer and so on. Virtual technology also shows a realistic recreation of every process involved in setting up and placing furniture in different parts of the house.

Physical retail stores are unable to carry a wide selection of bulky furniture and furnishing products to meet the varied tastes of consumers. An ideal solution to this problem is showcasing products through virtual technology. It provides realistic views of every product’s options including colors, fabrics, and finishing along with relevant information regarding products. Furniture retailers have significantly increased their sales after using this technology.

Summing Up

Furniture and furnishing products are an important part of our life. Today’s consumers demand a wide variety of affordable, customized, and durable furniture that meet their needs. Virtual technology seems to perfectly complement this demand by offering ultimate solutions to a series of identified problems that the furniture retail industry faces. Thus, the use of virtual technology will be predominant and will undoubtedly continue to reshape the future of furniture retail. Furthermore, it will receive ever-increasing attention from the furniture retailers to make the entire search experience of their customers more enjoyable, convenient, meaningful, and impactful.