Customers today don’t shop in straight lines. The average buying journey takes in a variety of physical and digital touchpoints. Shoppers browse on their phones, research on desktops, visit stores, and buy wherever is most convenient. According to research by McKinsey, 75% of consumers use multiple channels on their buying journey – yet many furniture brands still treat these touchpoints as isolated silos. Research from Google shows that omnichannel strategies drive an 80% higher rate of incremental store visits – highlighting just one of the benefits brands risk missing out on.
That’s not to say an effective omnichannel approach is just about driving more customers in store. By unifying online and offline experiences into a seamless customer journey, furniture brands are catering to modern shopper expectations – and boosting conversions, reducing returns, and gaining long-term loyalty as a result.
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What is an omnichannel strategy?
An omnichannel strategy connects all customer touchpoints – physical stores, ecommerce sites, mobile apps, social media, email, and even post-purchase services – into a unified experience. Rather than managing each channel separately, as in multichannel retail, omnichannel commerce ensures that all channels talk to each other, sharing data and adapting in real time to customer behavior.
“Ultimately, customers don’t care about what channel they’re shopping in – they simply know they’re shopping with Walmart.”
— Doug McMillon, CEO, Walmart
According to Google, more than 60% of shopping occasions begin online, including those that end in store, while GE Capital Retail Bank finds that 81% of customers research products online first. Nonetheless, when it comes to making purchases, the split is still almost fifty-fifty between online and in store – highlighting the importance of ensuring all channels are working together effectively. Whether a customer starts their journey on Instagram, reads reviews online, then tries out a sofa in-store before buying it via app, the experience should feel consistent, seamless, and convenient.
Why omnichannel strategies work for furniture brands
Data shows omnichannel customers spend more and stay longer. According to the Harvard Business Review, shoppers who use four or more channels spend 9% more, on average, than those using just one. Overall, omnichannel shoppers were found to spend 4% more on in-store shopping occasions and 10% more online. For high-ticket purchases like furniture, that constitutes a significant uptick.
Furthermore, retailers that implement omnichannel tools such as in-store pickup, AR tryouts, or cross-channel promotions report measurable improvements in both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. The reason these strategies are so powerful is that customers no longer see channels – they see a single brand experience. When furniture retailers provide consistent pricing, messaging, and personalization across email, mobile, website, and physical locations, it creates trust and removes hesitation.
Executing these strategies effectively leads to gains at every stage of the purchase funnel:
- Seamless experiences: Customers receive consistent pricing, messaging, and service across touchpoints. The unified experience means shoppers can pick up where they left off, regardless of platform, increasing satisfaction and time spent engaging.
- Personalized engagement: With unified data, retailers can tailor promotions, product recommendations, and service to each individual. In addition, personalization and visualization tools, using 3D and augmented reality, enable buyers to customize products in real time and preview them in their own spaces.
- Improved conversion: Live product configuration and previews, availability syncing, and personalized pricing boost conversion rates, lifting checkout completion. What’s more, shoppers who interact across channels are more likely to purchase – and to make repeat purchases.
- Reduced returns: A seamless and intuitive customer journey, coupled with immersive product experiences across brand touchpoints, leads to more informed buying decisions. This lowers the chance of unmet expectations when buying online, reducing return rates and minimizing costly reverse logistics.
- Higher retention: Frictionless experiences encourage repeat purchases in a way that clunky, slow, or laborious buying journeys do not. Additionally, personalization and convenience bolster customer loyalty. Research shows that omnichannel shoppers log 23% more repeat shopping trips to the same retailer compared to single-channel shoppers.
“In addition to having bigger shopping baskets, omnichannel shoppers were also more loyal.”
– Harvard Business Review
Four steps to build an omnichannel strategy
1. Know your customers
Use tools like surveys, CRM data, and website analytics to understand how your customers browse and buy. Where do they drop off? What channels do they trust? What pain points frustrate them? By understanding your customers’ needs, interests, and behaviors clearly, you can start to build a unified experience.
2. Map and connect every touchpoint
From digital ads to in-store purchases, your customer journey needs to be consistent and trackable. Invest in technologies that sync data across platforms – including POS systems, inventory management tools, and marketing automation. In addition, identify clear goals for each channel, such as communicating with customers, providing product updates, or highlighting promotions – and ensure all channels are kept updated.
3. Personalize experiences with real-time data
By integrating browsing history, past purchases, and even location data, you can trigger personalized recommendations, promotions, and service. Furthermore, investing in live configuration and visualization tools ensures a seamless customer experience across platforms, with real-time customization to the buyer’s preferences.
4. Continuously maintain and refine
Connecting your online and offline channels is an active process. Use A/B testing, heatmaps, and customer feedback to adjust campaigns, interfaces, and sales flows, enabling you to continually refine your strategy. Omnichannel isn’t a single implementation, it’s an ongoing strategy.
Furniture brands getting it right
IKEA: Seamless digital and in-store integration
IKEA has invested over $2.2 billion to enhance its omnichannel presence in the U.S., focusing on expanding fulfillment networks and opening new stores to better serve customers across various touchpoints. Their strategy includes:
- Click and collect services: Allowing customers to order online and pick up in-store, these services bridge the gap between digital browsing and physical shopping.
- Configuration and visualization tools: The IKEA Place and Kreativ apps enable customers to visualize furniture in their homes before purchasing, enhancing decision-making and reducing returns.
- Mobile app integration: IKEA's app offers features like shopping lists, stock availability checks, and loyalty rewards, providing a cohesive shopping experience across channels.
Wayfair: Transitioning from online-only to click-and-mortar
Wayfair, traditionally an online-only retailer, has embraced a physical retail strategy to complement its digital presence:
- Flagship store launch: The company opened its first large-format physical store in Wilmette, Illinois in 2024, blending showroom and retail elements to provide customers with an immersive shopping experience.
- Data-driven omnichannel strategy: Wayfair's approach includes using their physical stores as launchpads for broader omnichannel initiatives, enhancing customer engagement and expanding their market reach.
Ashley Furniture: Innovating across touchpoints
Ashley Furniture has taken a series of steps to refine its omnichannel strategy and optimize the shopping experience:
- Connected home experience: The company partnered with Samsung to create an immersive in-store experience at its Tennessee showroom, integrating smart home technology with furniture displays.
- Mobile app enhancements: Ashley expanded its mobile app with personalized recommendations, AR visualization, and smoother checkout.
- AI integration: The firm has identified almost 200 areas to apply AI across forecasting, logistics, and customer experience and service, according to CEO Ashley Wanek.
Future-proofing your furniture brand with omnichannel strategies
The race to meet customers where they are – online, offline, and everywhere in between – is well underway. Furniture brands that align their operations around a unified experience are seeing measurable returns: not just in conversion rates, but in customer lifetime value, operational efficiency, and brand equity.
This isn’t about chasing trends. It’s about building relevance and resilience in a retail environment that rewards agility, transparency, and trust. As the line between digital and physical retail continues to disappear, omnichannel strategies become a foundational approach to the future.
Transform your retail approach. Contact Enhance XR today for a free consultation to start building your omnichannel strategies.
