Buying sofa from so far

Vibha Sharma

 

If Internet has revolutionised every aspect of our everyday life, how can shopping remain an exception. Shopping of items like books, toys, games, gadgets, appliances, dresses, et al has already become a commonplace thing. The current trend of availability of bigger household items on virtual market space is greatly influencing the buying decisions of today's customers. Who would have even thought of purchasing items like sofas, beds, wardrobes, desks, dining tables and other voluminous household items online? But this has become a reality now and quite a popular trend that is catching up among masses pretty fast.

 

Sellers' Mantra - Creative, Convenience, Comfort

 

Online stores like Pepperfry and UrbanLadder are offering vibrant array of items in categories — Furniture, Home Décor, Kitchen and Home Appliances and much more. Pepperfry, which started business in 2012, offers a marketplace model. It is a platform for small and medium businesses that wish to sell their merchandise to millions of customers. They have been in partnership with over a thousand merchants showcasing their design skills and craftsmanship through the household goods.

Ambreesh Murty, Founder and CEO, Pepperfry, says, "The trend of buying furniture online is increasing exponentially with the online furniture market increasing at a pace of 400 per cent annually. At Pepperfry, we started with shipping 150 pieces of furniture a month but were soon delivering 15,000 pieces a month. Today, we sell a piece of furniture every minute."

Urban Ladder began its business in the same year, soon after Pepperfry. After having spent almost half a year understanding the basics of the furniture industry and the home décor space, they narrowed down on a solution that could get distinctive products, manufactured well at prices that consumers would find practical. They claim to have something for those who look for exquisite designs and exceptional service without any compromise on the quality.

Other than these, websites Fabfurnish, Mebelkart, Zuari, Stylespa and RoyalOak are virtual furniture stores, trying to make furniture buying as convenient as it could get.

 

Changing mindsets and approach

While Indian society is not a seasoned credit-buying society, similarly it is not one which is comfortable paying fully upfront for the items that are to be delivered a few weeks from the date of payment. Understanding this psychology of Indian buyers, the 'cash on delivery' option has been adopted by various online stores which has actually become a great game changer. Online shopping is slowly coming of age and more and more reliable websites are enjoying the confidence of consumers. They ensure that they live up to the expectations of delivering on time and delivering what was promised in the first place.

 

Making EMI (equated monthly Instalments) option available has turned out to be another shot in the arm for the online shopping. For instance, Urban Ladder offers two schemes of instalments — three and six months with Citibanks and HDFC Credit cards at an interest of 12 per cent.

The major shift in buying trend can be accredited to the availability of surplus income, too. Earlier, assets like household goods, especially furniture, enjoyed the status of once (or maximum twice) a lifetime purchase, but that is not the case anymore. People like to change and revamp their home décor from time to time and do not mind paying for the same. Any activity which comes in the category of getting repeated after every five to seven years, is best done with minimum extra work of haggling in crowded shops when one could get the option of achieving the same in the most convenient manner as well.

Concepts — moving, shifting, relocating and travelling — which were not so common a few decades ago have become quite trite now. Owing to exposure to the outside world, people have started getting acquainted with innumerable options in varied spheres and a shift has happened from comfort/convenience living to flamboyant living. Horizons have been pushed far out of sight. There are possibilities, there is luxury to refine the tastes and there are means to make it happen practically. There is something for everyone — whether one wants to go in for a heritage look of one's house or more modern appearance.

Moreover, one need not feel bound by limited designs, styles and colours that are being offered, there is an option of customizing one's own furniture too. Pepperfry has an interface available through which a customer can send picture of the item that one wants with exact specifications and the unique piece can be custom built for the customer.

 

Not just buying

The virtual marketplace model is being used for the opposite flow as well. Sites like OLX are offering platforms for selling and buying used goods. They are categorically working as meeting places for buyers and sellers. The items range from furniture, real estate, vehicles to mobiles and other gadgets. Services like these have been taking away the complication of selling, buying, trading, discussing, organizing and meeting people. By just floating ads through these sites, one gets to extend one's reach to a huge marketplace.

Win-win for all

Online shopping has come as a boon for many as one is spared of traffic problems, parking hassles and crowded shops. The convenience of shopping 24/7 and in the comfort of one's own home is unparalleled. Earlier, this kind of family shopping meant dedicating (wasting) a few days hopping from one store to another, getting consensus of all family members and finally taking the decision. All that has been cut down to opening a few windows on the computer screen simultaneously, checking the features, quality, comparing prices and making the purchase with a few button clicks. Moreover, buyers are not restricted to buying from only a few furniture stores in the vicinity or in the same city. The variety that an online buyer gets to choose from is unmatched with stores all across the country being easily accessible from the comfort of one's home. The day is not far when international brands like Ikea, American Furniture Warehouse and HomeBase would be jostling to grab a fraction of Indian clientele too.

The setup works well for the sellers as they do not have to man any front office or pay to any middle party. This saves their cost and some percentage of that gets passed on to the buyers as discounts and special deals - a very logical explanation for competitive prices being offered by the online stores. But nothing comes without challenges and more so when the items to be delivered are bulky and voluminous. Ambreesh shares, "The main challenge in this space is the delivery of large-size orders; the risk is inherent with long, transit period. In order to mitigate the risk, while Pepperfry already reaches 483 cities, it undertakes last-mile delivery to 147 cities through its own logistics. This reduces transit time and the risk of damage made by third-party logistics."

 

Technology makes it happen

Technological advancements have been a great facilitator in making this happen. Features like – life-like, high-resolution images, 360 degree views and zooming in — have been great aids to give customers close to reality feel of the item.

 

Virtual reality of future

Going forward, the experience of shopping online is only going to get more comfortable and more enriching. One would be able to drag and drop the available household items in pictures of one's own home to see how the new item would gel with the rest of the décor. That would be taking the maximum benefit out of virtually visualizing things before committing to make the purchase.