The seemingly endless discussion around tariffs and their on-again-off-again-partially-on-partially-off nature has had a few key impacts on the furniture business. First, it’s put a lot of business on hold pending their anticipated relaxation, reduction or elimination. It’s also caused companies to hoard cash in anticipation of further disruption that could impact product development, pricing and cash flow.
That’s to be expected.
What is less common in today’s climate is discussion of thoughtful, long-term strategies to accelerate sales and entice consumers back into stores once the threat of tariffs and their potential for price increases has been resolved. And make no mistake, one way or another the situation will resolve.
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However, what’s become lost in the tariff frenzy is that the furniture business has been undergoing a series of structural changes that date back nearly a decade, and those issues will not go away regardless of the tariff situation. For example, e-commerce continues to grow share relative to brick-and-mortar, despite short-term swings one way or the other.
That doesn’t mean that Amazon, Wayfair and Walmart (which somehow gets forgotten when discussing e-commerce) will become the last remaining outlets for furniture and/or any other household goods. What it does mean is that to thrive long-term every retail operation must have a meaningful, frictionless e-commerce site that does more than drive traffic to a physical location.
The role of content in driving traffic and engagement on retail websites continues to be misunderstood. Content is not product features, although that’s necessary. It should be inspirational, aspirational and, when possible, gamified. A good site entertains as well as informs. It must be more than an electronic product catalog or a way to locate stores.
I continue to hear industry pundits pontificate about the importance of the store and the website delivering a seamless and aligned experience. That’s true unless both are boring. A website should not only help a consumer find furniture when they are in-market, but also should inspire them when they think of decorating, solving a home décor or storage problem or when they seek a sense of discovery.
And it’s THAT experience that should be carried through to the store. Once upon a time, shopping was entertainment in America. That has been forgotten by a generation that grew up looking at computer and smartphone screens and by those who’ve spent the last decade trying to chase them.
If the focus becomes only about driving a transaction, then the product becomes a commodity, a lifeless — if beautiful — thing that we force the consumer to look at because to add anything else around it is viewed as a distraction. In such an environment, the consumer will opt to go where the transaction is cheapest, fastest and most convenient — a.k.a. Amazon.
That does not need to be the case. The tariffs will go away, or be reduced, or become a cost of doing business. But the need to excite and inspire consumers will not go away. What will you do when you can’t blame tariffs for consumers’ malaise?