Any company within the furniture sector should as part of its core message be run on the basis of the quality of product and the excellence of its customer service. So, it is with the increasing presence of internet retailers specialising in footstools and ottomans market. Without the customer they are nothing. Without a catalogue of highly engineered and well-designed products they have no business. As the current difficult trading climate eases towards a period of growth only those businesses with sound commercial acumen will be able to take advantage of the upturn.
As busy people we all know the importance of ‘putting our feet up’ after a hard day at work. We also value the importance of relaxation. Our experience when trading footstool products on the internet is that they need to fit seamlessly into the lifestyle and environment of potential customers. It is therefore vital that the design principles are based on the idea of giving consumers choice within a quality palette. With choice comes style and the variables of fabric, colour, feet and size are melded into footstool selection.
Businesses that provide custom-built footstools, pouffes and storage pieces rely on the experience of craftsmen and their product selection. Choosing plywood over chipboard, aniline leather over bicast leather and hardwood over softwood ensures rigour, consistency and a quality build with the customer in mind. Ask any UK ottoman or footstool craftsman for his specification standard and he will reply that if it is good enough for him it is good enough for his customer.
Furniture retail on the internet operates in such a way that products are not sold through shops on the high street. We are open 24/7 and if it is Christmas Day or 3.00am our products are available for all to see and buy. In this way the presence and display of product images on a website must engage with consumers in a way that removes them from being able to feel or small them. We must lead them towards the virtual world of experience, value and texture.
As internet retailers our challenge is to entice potential customers through means of visual clarity and the sound logical message that we cut out the expensive retail charges of the high street. Consumers are buying a unique range of products from the privacy of their own homes. Indeed, they are simply a click away from putting their feet up!
