Ecommerce is here to stay!
Even though one could say that the past couple of years have been challenging for everybody, there are some winners in this game. One such is ecommerce. When people were suddenly stuck in their homes without any clear indication of when the lockdowns would end, ecommerce boomed – across all industries and sectors. What implications does all of this have on Tvilum and what will the future of online sales look like? We spoke with Erol Erdogan, our E-Commerce Manager.
Erol – we have seen the ecom sector boom over the past year and a half – is this the new reality for us?
We have seen a huge uplift in ecom sales during the past year. However, I do not think that the level will stay as high as it is today – sales will take a step back until continuing their normal, expected growth rate. However, that level will stay above what we had pre-corona times. The virus just accelerated developments in e-commerce and what was going to happen 10 years down the road, got pulled forward and we are seeing those shifts in the market already today.
When we talk about ecommerce, in general – how does Tvilum gather market insight – how do we decide which products to sell in which markets, and what does the end-customer prefer?
This is an area where we have had some positive development over the years. Initially – most of our market insight was based on assumptions and intuition. Our approach was very retail oriented. However, when we get into online sales – we have massive amounts of data. Data that can be used even to predict changes in customer behavior before it happens. So, a lot of it boils down to our capability to analyze the data we have at our disposal and the way we use it to offer the market the best solutions. This has required changing the way we work with data and with ecommerce in general, and considering the rapid development of the field, will remain a work in progress.
Could you give us some examples?
We work continuously with our customers to analyze their offerings and help them fine-tune their value proposition to the end customers. With the massive amounts of data in our possession, we can help them put together product ranges that are more likely to sell better. Our customers obviously still have access to the full assortment, but the added value comes from the little tips and tricks we can provide them to increase their sales. So online sales are purely data-driven and require a different approach as opposed to traditional retail sales. And we are standing by our customers on this journey.
What is Tvilum doing to increase our footprint in ecom?
We have been actively working on developing our ecom business for several years already. A major milestone for our Latin American region is the opening of our new warehouse in Chile coming up soon. For historical reasons, Tvilum is a big household name in Chile. And obviously, China being another example of massive growth potential for Tvilum.
What else is Tvilum doing in ecom to help our customers sell more?
Lately, we have been working on developing an entirely new, complete value-proposition for online, which encompasses a complete list of possibilities we offer our customers – a recipe for success, if you will. With this, we can match our customers with the “recipe” fitting their profile and can therefore greatly reduce effort and time-to-market in most cases. Because we already have the data to prove what works and what does not. The value proposition also steers us in the right direction when we develop new or improve existing processes specifically in ecom.
The furniture industry is a very traditional industry – how do you see the sector embracing the possibilities offered by ecom?
What we see a lot of still, across the sector, is old ways of working, but that is destined to change. No one can afford to be left behind in developments that will change the way we do business going forward. Agility is key and companies in our sector need to keep up, or otherwise they will simply be left behind. Going forward, we all need to be able to anticipate customer expectations and be proactive in seeking out the best possible solution. This requires active engagement with the customer in helping them grow and reach their full potential.
Lately, accelerated by corona, we have seen a new, hybrid approach emerges, where companies are shifting away from having massive stores and opting for smaller, more central showrooms instead?
Whenever we need to make predictions, it is always good to look at what is happening in China. China has always been ahead by at least a few years when it comes to ecommerce trends. Showrooms have become massively popular in China over the past few years, and we see that trend spreading to Europe now. Customers can visit the showroom to get a first-hand look at the products and then order it on the spot or go home and order it online. This hybrid model is not only convenient for the customer but also helps reduce sales-related costs for the retailer, resulting in more competitive prices for the end-consumer.
Customer reviews have become a major influencer on buyer behavior – how do we utilize the feedback we get from the end-consumers?
The reviews we receive are valuable to us as we can use them to constantly improve our processes and ways of working. A good example here might be the quality of our imagery and the way colors in images might deviate from real life. We use renderings in product imagery, and this is good input for our rendering team to look for ways to improve the quality in the process.
Ecommerce is a way of the future (and present, one could argue). What we have seen over the past couple of years cannot be overturned, so it is in the best interest of the entire furniture industry to embrace this change in consumer trends. Or face the risk of being left behind.