Until the year-end of 2019, evolution in consumer demand and advancement in technologies were considered to be the ultimate reasons for changes and revolution in any industry. But, the sudden occurrence of coronavirus pandemic changed the tradition. Since last year, the pandemic has managed to transform how people live, shop, and interact with others. Same is the scenario for industries in the business world. While the pandemic has affected business operations in almost every industry globally, e-Commerce platforms are adopting new technologies in order to keep up with consumer needs and offer a hassle-free shopping experience. In India, many e-Commerce furniture platforms are witnessing huge shifts in consumer behaviour and frequently changing business trends. Not just that, but in the past few years, the furniture industry has faced digital transformation challenges.

According to an industry report published by Indian Brand Equity Foundation, the e-Commerce revenue in India is projected to increase from $39 billion (2017) to $200 billion (2026); growing at 51 percent annual rate, touted to be the highest in the world. It’s no surprise that technology will continue to change the rules of the e-Commerce game. The digital natives consider technology as an integral part of their lives, and they expect a seamless Omni-channel shopping experience. Consequently, online shopping and the online retail industry, in particular, have seen advancement due to technological developments such as cloud space and artificial intelligence, further accelerating the growth of e-Commerce in India. The IBEF report further states that the Indian e-Commerce industry is expected to outrank the United States as world’s second-largest e-Commerce market by 2034, driven by hyper-local logistics, digital payments, digital advertisements, and analytics-based customer engagement. Let’s have a look at how the pandemic and advancement in technologies are acting as a catalyst in changing the e-Commerce furniture industry in India.

Augmented Reality - The furniture industry is an incredibly visual-dependent space, and customers welcome every effort to bridge the gap between the online and in-store shopping experience. This is one of the main reasons why Augmented Reality (AR) has significant potential to disrupt the way people shop for furniture. AR can help consumers make informed decisions by giving them the opportunity to virtually “try-out” furniture, not worrying about bad decisions, and removing a huge weight from their shoulders before the big purchase. According to Google, two in three people say they are interested in harnessing AR to help them when shopping. Soon, AR will become an inevitable part of a buyer's path to purchase, especially in the furniture industry.

Interactive Technology - Along the lines of customization, technological advancements such as interactive applications are allowing customers to change the finish, size, styles, colours, types of fronts, handles, or countertops to transform their traditional décor setting into modern homes. Technologies in e-Commerce furniture industry have also played a vital role in mending the relationship between customers and supplier/manufacturer/retailer.

Product Customization - With the help of the technology, customization and personalization are becoming more common for e-Commerce retailers. It’s enabling them to tailor-made the furniture according to the needs of every customer. For any business, it is important to develop long-lasting relations in order to build customer loyalty over the years and further create a robust market reputation. Today, customers demand unique, mechanical chic furniture and this can be made possible through personalization. They are vocal and clear about their needs and wants, which makes it easier for the manufacturer to understand and offer customized furniture that meets their needs. Choosing the right furniture for a home can be a daunting task – even the slightest details matter. Giving consumers the ability to combine colours, fabrics, finishes, and other details in a few clicks with a simple product configurator can enhance their experience and increase your conversions. Apart from that, leveraging the technology in-store can help you create an endless aisle. By using this strategy, you can bring the online experience in-store and empower sales representatives to sell more.

Visual Search Technology - In parallel with the advancement of visual technology, the world is witnessing an increasing number of companies getting ready for visual search. While the visual search isn’t expected to replace text-based search entirely any time soon, it will inevitably disrupt the way people search for products in the upcoming years. This will be additionally fueled by the adoption of 5G networks, which will enable the movement of larger amounts of data and visual information. Visual search has been around for years, specifically on the search engines of Google Images, Amazon, Wayfair, and Pinterest, to name a few. This is one more tool that marketplaces use to pitch furniture retailers to list their products on their marketplace. However, it is only recently that visual search has grown tremendously in terms of technological power that guarantees wider user adoption.

To sum up, on one hand, the fundamental difficulties faced by the segment are identified with competition from overseas having since India has low generation costs, weak protection against licensed technology rights, depleting workforce, and conservation measures on global markets. Given this, to proceed to endeavour and flourish in the worldwide furniture industry, new and developing organizations need to profoundly comprehend the difficulties and chances to grow ahead.