Home office e-tailers tout selection, service
Reaching out to informed consumers who know what they want
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, March 23, 2009
HIGH POINT — The power of ordering product with the click of a mouse is helping to fuel home office sales at online-only furniture retailers.
These retailers include increasingly well-known names such as CSNStores.com, Homefurnituremart.com, Furniturebuzz.com, Homefurniture2go.com and Officefurniture.com.
Officials from these sites say home office is a major segment of their business that has been growing each of the past few years. They attribute that growth to factors such as selection, convenience and service.
Combined, these features empower consumers, particularly those who know just what they are looking for in an office.
“The power has shifted from the retailer to the customer,” said Steve Twining, general manager of Officefurniture.com. “Customers are more informed, more demanding and have higher expectations than ever.”
Meeting those expectations remains a challenge for any retailer. But office furniture e-tailers say they are positioned to meet the challenge thanks to a large selection of product and well-trained sales staffs.
“It's all about convenience,” Twining said, noting that his site offers nearly 4,500 home office items, including executive desks ranging from $500 to $4,000 retail. “People appreciate being able to shop at any time. We also have a well-trained sales force to answer calls here seven days a week and can work with a customer to provide them a range of choices within their budget.”
E-tailers say a site's value proposition is especially important for displaced workers considering starting a business out of their home as well as for telecommuters.
Given the amount of time they spend working at home, it's only natural that many workers surf the Web to shop for products such as home office furniture.
“Although home office has always been a significant portion of our furniture sales, as telecommuting has become increasingly common over the last couple of years, the category has taken off for us,” said Joe Noonan, office category manager for CSN Stores. “This trend has accelerated over the last six to eight months as companies have been more focused on ways to cut costs.”
Noonan said that e-tailers have an advantage in the selection of products they can offer.
“While brick-and-mortar retailers typically have fairly extensive selections of home furnishings and numerous racks of swatches, the home office category tends to be quite limited in the traditional retail setting,” Noonan added. “At big-box retailers, you may find only five to 10 low-to mid-range RTA home office desks, seating and storage options along with an even smaller selection of higher-end home office furniture.
“In direct contrast, you have the online channel, where consumers can choose from thousands of pieces based on their price range, style preference, and size requirements without driving from store to store.”
Noonan added that most office products on his site ship in 72 hours. Custom orders typically ship in less than six weeks.
At Homefurniture2go.com, home office sales represent about a third of sales. David Wierdsma, who founded the company in 2005, said the category has grown as more Americans spend a greater amount of time working out of their homes.
And despite the slow economy, he sees demand for both RTA and higher-end goods.
“We carry all the popular home office lines,” he said. “We find that in this economy, the RTA products are doing better than usual, but we are always surprised at how well the higher-end wood veneers perform.”
In addition to selection, service is critical to the success of any online retailer, he said.
“The sale isn't made until it is in their home and they are happy,” he said.
Edward Litvak, president of Homefurnituremart.com, said his office sales have increased 25% each year since the company was founded in 2005. That places office, along with entertainment, among the top two product categories on the site.
He attributed that performance largely to the innovative product offerings from companies featured on his site, such as Parker House and Aspenhome. Other key furniture vendors include Coaster, Acme, Signature, Sunny Designs and Homerica.
 Lifework Portfolio, from Herman Miller, is a line of five signature desks and multiple storage units designed for the home. This setting includes the highly ergonomic Embody chair. |
 The Marlowe home office, from Wynwood, is among the better sellers at Homefurniture2go.com. Shown in a black cherry finish, the group features Louis Philippe design elements. |
 This home office setup is part of the DaVinci collection from Parker House. Shown in a dark chestnut finish, it is featured on www.CSNstores.com. |
 The Chateau de Vin home office is among the top sellers on www.homefurnituremart.com. The Louis Philippe-inspired group is made with cherry and alder veneers. |
-
Overstock keeps mix fresh, focused
Mar 8, 2010 -
Bush Gearing Up for Growth
Dec 23, 2010 -
Unsung hero: Furniture designer Joe Miller
Aug 10, 2009 -
Unsung hero: Designer Joe Miller
Aug 10, 2009 -
Office sources score with downsized products
Sep 21, 2009
Featured Company
-
Brandwise Inc.
Brandwise serves a model - not just an industry - by integrating, automating, and optimizing the entire sales channel, from wholesale Suppliers to their Reps and the Retailers they service. In short, our software helps Reps and Suppliers sell more and create... more
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
