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Do Indians accept to buy furniture Online ??

By Shathyan Raja on 22 Comments / 4841 views

Hello Everyone,

 

I’m Shathyan, a MBA Student and a Partner of an upcoming eCommerce Portal for selling Furnitures Online called the www.woodchunk.com.

woodchunk

 

 

This is basically a startup started by four students of my college including me which is still under process and we are yet to launch it online.

 

Why we Started ??

 

we as a student had a dream of becoming a Entrepreneur and we came together to start up with this idea as it fired us with some thoughts. We felt that there is two different model in market for selling products and there are,

 

1. Build To Stock

 

2. Order To Build

 

And the major difference in these two models were the selling cost will be highly reduced. Reason is in Build to Stock is where it includes the cost of making, developing the product and stocking it where we need to pay charges for stock, like labour, building rent, current and etc basic amenities. But in Order to Build, we don’t have any of these cost expect the cost of making it and delivering it.

 

So basically we had this plan and was searching for business where we can implement Order To Build in it and found furnitures as one of the prospects in it. 

 

We also contacted some manufactures and enquired about cost of some products which was in Show room and we came to know that there were some huge difference in making cost from manufacture and selling cost in Show room as they all came under the Build To Stock model.

 

So we geared up with this plan on Order to Build, where customer would order the furniture and we will make and deliver where the prices will be less compared to show room prices. So we started to work on website and other things on contacting manufactures and getting the quotation of prices of different products. Now our website work is going to complete and we will launch it soon.

 

Fear in us 🙁

 

we are now inculcating a small fear whether Indian’s have a mind tendency to buy furnitures online as other products which are sold. Many of  our surrounding like our parents and friends are infusing us with a thought that who will buy furnitures online where we can’t feel, touch and experience the furniture lively. 

 

Our people mind set is like that if we are going to buy furniture, they will touch, sit and experience it which suits their comfort and then buy it. But here we are doing it online which is basically a Order to Build where they can see only images, photos of the furniture online and if they liked it, they have to order it.

 

The only thing will be the price will be highly lesser than the showroom price but they can;’t touch, sit and experience it.

 

Your Thoughts Please….!!

 

So I would like to have some of your thoughts on this idea, whether this model will work well or what else can be implemented to make the customer satisfied or more thrust-able to buy furnitures online. Either its negative or positive, please feel free to give your thoughts. We are ready to hear up anything and learn from it. We are just students yet and we believe it would be a learning for us. 

 

Also guide us with some marketing strategies and promoting methods which would be useful for us.

 

We do have Facebook Fan Page, Just check it : www.facebook.com/woodchunk

 

Thank You.

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22 Comments

  1. If the price is reasonable, I’d buy it. The current problem I face with ecomm in the furniture sector is

    1. Lack of selection

    2. Only higher end items available.

    Let’s take my case. I am a bachelor and I will be shortly moving to Bangalore. When I look for furniture online, I could hardly see a cot under 10k. Most cost much higher. If I go to a local shop, I can find cots in the range 3k-7k. Sure there is a quality difference for the higher priced ones vs lower priced ones, but for my need a 20K cot is probably an overkill. Same is the case with Almirahs. I can get Almirah for 3k-5k with a bit of bargaining from local shops. Good luck finding one under 6k or 7k online. Plus, most of the local shops have a policy of buy back for 50% when you go away.

    Same is the case with almost all furniture. I guess the majority of people who usually buy furniture online are well off families and hence the catalog reflects their tastes. You might want to talk to startups in this space. i am sure they’d be open to share their thoughts.

    Good luck with your venture.

  2. I am typing from my phone, so wont do a detailed response. Please look at urabanladder and Ashish Goel and see how they harnesses Facebook to grow their user base.

    Will add more thoughts and resources later. 

  3. Check out http://www.pepperfry.com they are doing very well in this 

  4. i consider buying “furniture” a high involvement purchase. i like to see, touch, feel, sit, sleep to check out how comfy the furniture is. but that is me.

    now, on the other hand, when it comes to “home decor” like lamps/lampshades/curtains i would be open to ordering it online.

  5. I would agree with Asha, Home decor is something that people are willing to spend for. Check out this store – Roti Kapda Makaan – https://go.sellmojo.com/1aPg0fw Their Home Decor section is doing pretty well.

    They even have people paying 10500 for a Bike headlight lamp like this one – https://go.sellmojo.com/17uDh2F

  6. Bro, pepperfry.com has good amount of sales and majority of their orders are either from rich customers or bulk orders (B2B). Target this market and your USP should be lowest price. Create a pricewar in online furniture and you’ll be successful. I don’t think catering to college kids who don’t have money to barely survive will make any sense.

  7. Hi Shathyan,

    First, accept my greetings to tread a path which most of us, including myself dread to take, which is being an entrepreneur.

    Taking a leaf from what Adarsh mentioned, why you don’t try in parallel of what redbus has done to bus travel. Try being an aggregator of local furniture shops, which have a more broad based appeal.

    Your current model is anyways a local furniture shop with a web presence. How will you deliver something to me in Bangalore? You can’t if you are based in Delhi, right?

    -Himanshu Agarwal

    https://www.himanshuagarwal.com

  8. Let me share some of my concerns:

    – A month ago, i went to a HomeTown to buy a bed. Their deigns looked good on the site but when i saw the product in the showroom, i was disappointed with the finishing. Buying furniture online is a huge risk, one can never be sure about the finishing of the product.

    – Furniture is a long term product. If a person buys a furniture, he/she is likely to use it for 10+ years. The product needs to be perfect according to the buyer.

    – You are selling high value products on your site. People would not trust a new player with a big sum of money. It would be difficult for you to acquire the first few customers.

    Suggestions

    – You could get into home decor. The market exists, the products are easy to source and you can grab a small share in the pie.

    or

    – You can focus on book and wall shelves. There is a very less chance that something could go wrong with it and people are more likely to buy them online. The ones listed on your site are costlier ones, try to have some cheaper ones also. You can also add bean bags, study lamps etc.

    or

    – Focus on a single product. You can have 100’s of wall clocks or bean bags. The key here is to focus on a single product and become “the place to be” for that product. For eg – Be the place to be if someone is looking for a wall clock etc.You can then go on to add new products once you get your self a name in the business. For that matter, wall clock woudn’t be difficult to source. A lot of people are selling them on eBay.Check this.

    or

    You can even narrow down to products that sell themselves(Also refereed as Cool products by the mango junta). Have a look at bewakoof.com and wyo.in. The first time i visited them i didn’t have any intention or need to buy a tshirt but i eneded up buying one because the T-shirt sold itself to me. You could build something like bewakoof or wyo.in for clocks or bean bags and then eventually expand to the entire home decor segment

    Look at bean bags, they are all boring and same. Make them interesting( Same can go for a lot of products – Bedsheets, clocks etc etc).

  9. I forgot to mention Happilyunmarried
    They are a better example then bewfkoof. Also i saw roti kapda and makaan above, you must have a look at them. You will surely get some ideas.

  10. One more piece of advice I have to share is, try getting real furniture images. I don’t want to see stock images- that’s one major reason I might get disappointed when I get the product. Sure, it wont look as nice as the professional shots, but will lend credibility to the product listing. You could do both to make sure it looks nice + provides realistic expectation to the customer.

    I agree with most people that if I am going to spend in excess of 10K for a furniture, I’d definitely want to feel it and evaluate it first. That brings me to my earlier point- cheap furniture! If you stock cheap furniture, I wont think too much before spending a total of 10k on your site. It might be an easier sale for you.

  11. Hi,

    Will people in India buy furniture online? I would say yes, why not?

    There are so many other companies in this space. I have yet to compare your prices with other online retailers, however if you are a cheaper alternative than others, why does your website not show any price comparison?

    If your USP is your price, you should be harping about it because it is useful to the customer? Is it your great customer service or are you catering to a particular niche market? Is it your wide range of furniture or special because it is custom made?

    Whatever it is, your marketing message is lost.The customer coming to your website just does not get your marketing message.

    Few places where you can improve is :

    1.Your tagline is vague, it is meaningless for me and perhaps lot of other people too. Just don’t get the Mango man thing.

    2. Whats new about you? Why should someone buy from you? No real compelling reason, your website is like just another website which shows furniture. You have no competitive advantage over others.

    3. Since you are a new company, You SHOULD show testimonials on home page, every customer wants to feel comfortable that someone out there has already bought from your before.

    My suggestion is to look at the big players website and study them closely. Try and implement what is working for them.

    Since you are selling online, your website should sell for you. Right now it just shows pretty furniture, same as any other big online furniture retailer.

  12. Will people buy furniture online? I think this question is a bit passé now. There is enough online sales in India of things that we’d rather touch and feel and taste. So, I guess, you’d get enough sale to be a decent business if not a billionaire. 

    The question is what are you offering. If you cut all the management crap in the story, you are making a carpenter business go online. This could be a great idea. My two pence follow: 

    • Get hold of a good team of carpenters, or tie up with a small (read the word small carefully please) furniture factory

    • With your ‘manufacturing partners’ zero in on a few segments of furniture that they can make well…say chairs, tables, shelves etc

    • Now, HERE IS THE CLINCHER FOR YOU. Let the buyer CUSTOMISE his furniture on your site! He should be able to change the sizes to suite his setup, choose colours, upholstery etc. HERE IS YOUR DIFFERENTIATOR. Make the interface parametric so that the buyer sees his product being configured on the screen. 

    • And last…under commit on delivery time. Your production partners will always overshoot the time by 100% at least. 

    All the best…this should work. 

  13. 1. Your pricing is luxurious.

    2. I am from urban populace, we have space constraints, and we are always looking for things which will fold, collapse, get strapped on walls or cellings or floor. Most of your furniture are humongous.

  14. Without getting into much details abt d profitability of selling online, read E-commerce..

    Dre r numerous successful executions..fabfurnish (managed dre digital wing for a while), pepperfry, urbanladder etc.

    The success of these online portal is a gud enough reason to believe dat buying furniture online in India works & is successful, most probable target audience is the one who resides in metros (delhi, bangalore, mumbai, hyderabad)

    For people residing in metros – its more about convenience & for tier 1, tier 2 its about the choices made available by an online purchase..

  15. people buy spectacles and perfume online without look and feel then why not furniture ..whoever i feel price will be the only convincing trigger. 

  16. Hi Sathyan,

    People are buying Furniture Online. That’s the reason why Pepperfry, Jabong, Urban Ladder, Homeshop18 and many more online sites sell Furniture.

    I work in Homeshop18 heading the Home Category and for us Furniture is a growing business.  We have tied up with manufacturers where all products are made to order and the delivery would be ranging between 10 days to 25 days.  

    What we offer to customers :

    1) Some of the products are easy to assemble – like Shoe Racks, Book shelves etc., where the instructions are provided to the customers and they do it themselves.

    2) For products where assembling is required like Bedroom sets, sofa sets etc., the manufacturers have tie up with the local carpenters and get these assembled to the customers when the product reaches them.  

    You might want to start with smaller Furniture like shoe racks, book shelves where its ok for customers to not see or touch the product before buying.  

    Also as mentioned by fellow Rodinhooders, pl. work on having the actual image of the product with the dimensions which gives the customers an idea.  Also work on multiple images to show how the shoe rack will be after placing the shoes.  These will aid conversions in customers.

    Also work on the pricing, since that is a major factor for most customers to buy online.

    All the very best for your venture.

  17. Isay why not ? Only there is a IF

    if you study well all the furniture ecommerce site thoroughly, you will only succeed if-

    1. Something Differentiating design experiance that is affordable to your customer.
    2 urban ladder and pepper fry have such products.
    3 if you create some thing like IKEAs low cost, self to built ,lite furniture products? ….you may click with the customer.

  18. Try using the keyword planner tool in Google. It will give you an estimate of the total traffic available as well as keywords ideas and themes around what people are searching. Its a good way to estimate the demand out there.  Bit note people might be searching online to buy it offline. But will still give you an overall idea.

    https://adwords.blogspot.com/2013/05/introducing-keyword-planner-combining.html

  19. People buy, will continue to buy. I recently refurbished a substantial amount of my renovated house with furniture being bought online, and have had good experiences. A couple of bad ones were addressed quickly. Few friends have had bitter experiences but that is for every product. Research, begin small, factor in replacement, Fantastic to Epic customer service, personalized if possible.

  20. Hi Shathyan,

    Great initiative…we know that eventually all businesses will need to have an online presence in order to survive in the jungle.  Offering the opportunity for users to purchase furniture online is a great offering with a high $ per order.  Setting up an affiliate program to help move your product and promote your idea is the way to move forward with this venture.  Have added your site and your facebook/linked in pages to the Indian Advertising Network across the following sites:

    https://buyhomefurniture.in/
    https://buyofficefurniture.in/

    Let me know if there is any interest in your part to purchase or lease the domains mentioned above.  They clearly identify your business and would be a great addition to your marketing portfolio.  These are memorable domain names that once purchased, can be directed to your website or used as promotional material as you see fit.  You also have the option to advertise your website on the top position of either one of these domains. Feel free to reach out with interest.

    Best of luck with your furniture venture as I am sure buyers will soon come to realize that purchasing furniture online is safe, and the norm.

  21. Hey sathyam raja,

    Just read your post, guess am late comer to the post. I am in related industry of modular kitchen & factory manufactured modular furniture since 20 yrs. I find your venture interesting and felt I could add a comment or two that you can consider as you move ahead. Furniture industry in india is an emerging industry ( though catching up fast now ) & way behind mature mkts of developed countries in many aspects. In west, the biggest reason for buying furniture online are lack of time & cost differential. A same piece of furniture in a showroom sells @ 40% or more ( ikea being an exception ). Websites do great business there as they offer cheaper prices ( pass on real estate & other over head cost benefits to customers ). Websites are very transparent in their business approach & you get the exact product you see. the Quality of product is generally good & as advertised. No hidden surprises when you open, touch & feel it. Many websites offer money back guarantee within 30 days, no Questions asked & lowest prices assurance. I am aware of a case where my sister got refund of differential amount when she pointed them to another website. No agruements or repeated follow ups, the website replied back in one hour & informed their response. The websites there often announce product blowouts wherein they offer specific products / models at lowest prices. This is to generate increased traffic to site & make new clients for future repeated business. I understand that consumer public generally does not complain, unless genuine issue, hence replacement policy is normally not misused.

    This is just to give you an over view of another market in same business. In india one mostly sees an ‘entry level’ furniture imported from china / Malaysia / Thailand that is marked up by 200%, only to give fat discounts at festival time to attract sales. This furniture is mostly ‘use @ throw’ type & below average Quality. The importers have to do this to manage showroom real estate / huge inventory over heads, so as to average out the costs.

    You will have to do some real research & decision making to get the right biz model. To begin with….

    1.

    Indan customer is used to checking / touch & feel furniture before actually buying it. How can you change this habit. How do you induce them to try you out ?

    2.

    What range you want to start with ? Each segment of furniture ( sofa/ bedroom sets / dining / living ) is so vast that it means huge inventory & investments. You want to be a jack f all segments or king of few ? What are fast moving items ?

    3.

    Who is responsible for transportation breakage losses ? You or customer ? This can make or break your credibility. Personally had an issue with one supplier ( I purchased at a Showroom& they shipped it from another city ). After 3 replacements ( each time the replaced item was broken / scratched in new place ) I gave up & accepted it with breakage & scratches, only Bcs I wanted the whole issue to end & get on with my life.

    4.

    What s your replacement policy ? How do you prevent missuse ?

    5.

    Very imp: what is your product USP ? Do you ave any special item / design / finish & color that other sites & physical stores don’t. Why should I buy from you ?

    6.

    Do you have ‘deal of the day / week ‘ , a product you want to do ‘blow out sale ‘. Case in point –> Japanese style computer table you can keep on bed & work. A few website & newspaper is laughing all the way to bank selling it. At RS 1999/- it is a impulse buy that many ppl want to try it out. It is in solid wood & will last for years to come. It’s a deal.

    7.

    If you going to make a typical study table one Unit at a time, your over heads will go beyond control, forget competing with mass manufacturer. It’s much better to tie up with mass manufacturer who can give you a specific design in special color scheme at a competitive price. You will have to commit certain volume in Qtly time frame. The factory will make units in small batches & keep in stock for you. You will dilute your stocks within that time. Start by selling it at mrp for first 4 months & then blow out sale & discontinue the design. Introduce new design. Repeat

    I hv listed few basic points for you to ponder. My take would be to focus on a niche segment ( carpet under RS 5000/-, see ambadi from murugappa group. / kids furniture ) & target specific region & run your biz to reach certain predetermined parameters like t/o, sku , satisfaction etc. better to be known as ‘the company to go to ‘ for such items. Then scale up product wise / region wise.

    Best of luck !! It is a beautiful business, always exciting. You don’t have to wear a tie, can go to office in a jeans & tee on Monday morning !! Some of the perks ….eh !!

    Vipul

  22. To be honest, I would not buy furniture online from people I’ve not heard of at all. If the designs were very good, and the price reasonable, I would still check online to see if it is a trust-worthy company. So, you should try for a very high level of customer satisfaction (so that these people go to your site or to other reviewing portals and give you good reviews). Apart from that, I think the biggest problem with furniture is that it takes too long to get delivered. My major reason for buying furniture online would be if I could get it delivered in a week. But with your model, it doesn’t seem very viable. (If you can achieve that, it would be your USP).

    About the touch-feel-experiecne thing, this is where superior web-design would come in handy. (I could not open your website) If instead of displaying furniture like ecommerce sites display clothes, why not go for something more innovative? Design your pages like rooms in a house, so that anyone who enters it would feel that “I want it now!” reaction. (it’s just an idea and it might be very difficult to implement), but if you want to be noticed, you need to do something different to grab people’s attention.

    Also another idea is that you should start looking at people in your area who need furniture and need it urgently. Create a customer base in your area first. Work with real-estate brokers who would know of people moving into unfurnished homes and maybe you can get some customers that way. If you can make a good impression on them, word-of-mouth can be very beneficial for giving your brand a good image or even publicity.

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