As we look to enter the busiest months for furniture retailers and manufacturers, it’s the time for businesses to look at how they can set themselves apart from their competitors. The answer? It’s time to embrace CGI. Wanting imagery quickly, easily and at the fraction of the cost of photography? If your answer is yes, we’ve got you covered! It may seem like a no-brainer for some, but it’s significantly clear that many people still can’t wrap their heads around the incredible benefits that CGI holds and how much it can increase your sales. As it’s now been a good few months since stores have opened their doors to the public again, we’ve noticed that online sales still remain at a constant high. Not to mention we’re seeing an increase in store closures to cut costs, with the plan of spending this money elsewhere - mainly on e-commerce, marketing and digital assets. In August this year it was reported that 1 in 7 shops were still vacant or closed and it appears to be on the rise as the year goes on.
Back in April we saw a big shift from John Lewis as they announced the closure of four of their department stores and four of their At Home stores due to the lack of sales and customers. Setting the tone for the industry, the popular retailer announced that ‘Given the significant shift to online shopping in recent years - and our belief that this trend will not materially reverse - we do not think the performance of these eight stores can be substantially improved’. Not only did the retailer admit in-store sales were decreasing, they admitted that online shopping will continue to be on the up, stating that ‘we expect 60% to 70% of John Lewis sales to be made online in the future’. We’ve seen John Lewis sales via the web increase by a whopping 20% over the last year - leaving only 30% - 40% of their sales made in-store - it appears that their online sales performance saved them from going under during the pandemic. It’s no secret that the retailer’s e-commerce capabilities are impressive, they are able to show most, if not all, products in all available materials and sizes which would’ve put them ahead of competitors when we couldn’t go in-store to see fabric selections. Of course, it’s not only John Lewis facing store closures, Dunelm managed to maintain 70% of sales despite store closures back in March of this year, all thanks to their online shopping experience.
You may think that basic imagery will sell your products, but customers are becoming increasingly impatient and picky when it comes to online shopping. The more you have to offer your customers, the happier they are, the more they shop with you and recommend you, and most importantly, the more sales you’ll bring in. For those of us who work in the CGI industry who aren’t 3D artists, many of us joined the industry with little to no knowledge of the capabilities of CGI. So, discovering furniture giants such as IKEA, Dunelm and John Lewis use CGI to populate over 50% of their sites was quite shocking. With CGI becoming increasingly realistic with every passing day, it’s time to take the leap - if you haven’t already. Traditional photography is becoming more expensive, more time consuming and less achievable with each passing day. If you’re wanting to follow most of the furniture industry in cutting store budgets to focus on digital assets and e-commerce, traditional photography is most definitely the route you want to avoid. Get in touch with our unreal team of creatives today to see how CGI can transform your online sales and e-commerce capabilities!