Not many would have thought that Amazon would target the furniture vertical. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal amazon is set to hit the furniture category. And it is gearing up fast by building four large warehouses designed to handle storage and shipping of furniture and appliances.
Amazon Would Enter The Furniture Market In A Much Bigger Way
Amazon has been selling furniture’s for quite some time now. But this time the eCommerce giant is going after it in a much bigger way. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company now targets the $150 billion furniture market. The company is surely planning to eat up the likes of Wayfair and Pottery Barn in the online furniture market.
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Furniture The Second-Fastest-Growing Segment Of Online Retail
In the U.S. after groceries, furniture is the second-fastest-growing segment of online retail. According to the Wall Street Journal reports, the sales in the online furniture segment grew by 18 percent in the year 2015. To add more stats, IBISWorld said around 15 percent of the $70 billion of the furniture market in the U.S. is on the internet.
Amazon Is Expanding Its Offering In Furniture
Veenu Taneja, furniture general manager at Amazon, said in a statement to the WSJ – “Furniture is one of the fastest-growing retail categories here at Amazon,” he told, Amazon is expanding its offering in furniture, it would include adding more Ashley Furniture sofas and Jonathan Adler home décor.
They would also roll out custom furniture design services, these would be provided in selected cities around the country and would be provided in one- or two-day delivery.
Constraint To Success In The Furniture Market
While the e-commerce giant has dominated many retail segments, the furniture market can be a tough one to crack. One of the main reason would be the cost of shipping. The shipping cost is much more expensive and when its Amazon the consumers expect extra delivery services. Bringing the furniture into the house, getting rid of the older ones and putting it together are some of the expected services by the customers. This would make the entire proposition more expensive.
Delivering furniture would be much more complicated than delivering other items which can be easily packed and shipped to the customers’ doors. Amazon would rely on third-party logistic companies to handle distribution centers and delivery for now but is aiming to bring more of it internally.
Date: 17 May, 2017