The retailers setting the trend in online furniture
Each month we run our ‘ASK BOSCO® index league table’ on a specific retail category. We do this by running the ‘credit score’ or digital online presence of a category’s top retailers and pit them against each other using our competitive benchmarking tool. The Competitive Benchmarking tool found in the ASK BOSCO® platform compares your website’s online presence against your closest competitors. This month we focused on online furniture retail, which continues to be a growing sector within e-commerce.
What does the online furniture sector currently look like?
The global online furniture industry has experienced significant expansion and evolution over recent years. This is due to economic shifts, supply chain challenges, and evolving consumer behaviour.
For obvious reasons, the sector had a boost in the early part of the COVID-19 restrictions. Despite initial concerns of an e-commerce slowdown post-pandemic, online furniture sales have continued to grow steadily. In a report commissioned in 2023, Statista found that 27% of UK shoppers purchased home and garden products online.
Amidst challenges facing the industry including economic instability, rising interest rates, and supply chain disruptions, furniture retail businesses are pushing the boundaries to enhance customer experiences. The top online furniture retailers are demonstrating that to be successful, they need to really understand their target market. And in doing so, they are optimizing e-commerce experiences, embracing 3D content for marketing, and revamping their advertising strategies based on their ideal audience.
Ultimately, technological innovation is helping to drive growth and meet evolving consumer demands in this sector.
What is the ASK BOSCO® Index?
Do you want to know how your brand compares to the competition online – and then learn how to outrank them? The ASK BOSCO® Index within the Competitor Benchmarking part of the platform is the perfect way to measure your digital presence and assess the effectiveness of your investments in organic, earned and paid media channels.
Unlike other metrics that only consider your marketing budget, the ASK BOSCO® Index takes into account your performance across paid media and organic traffic. It provides an accurate overview of your online performance based on your previous digital interactions by analyzing data from trusted third-party sources.
What is a good ASK BOSCO® Index score? It ranges from 0 to 1000, with the average score for brands and retailers being around 575. The higher your score, the better your online performance as a retailer. Think of it as the credit score of digital marketing.
Here’s how we scored the top 5 retailers (download to view all 10)
We scored ten of the leading UK online furniture retailers. Here’s how the top five ranked on the ASK BOSCO® Index league table. Download the league table below to see the full results and see who the remaining five furniture retailers are.
What do these scores mean?
Anthropologie:
Ikea and Anthropologie are vying for top place on the table with the highest ASK BOSCO® score – 739.
Anthropologie knows its target market well, and its stunning lifestyle-oriented imagery and videos appeal to its trendy and aspirational audience. Anthropologie uses personalized email marketing effectively, sending tailored content and offers based on customer preferences. They also collaborate with influencers who align with their brand values, expanding their reach and reinforcing their brand image. By actively encouraging user-generated content, Anthropologie creates authenticity and a sense of community among its customers.
Ikea:
IKEA’s digital marketing approach is quite different, and focuses more on content marketing, localized strategies, and customer-centric initiatives. They provide valuable content and educational resources on home furnishing and design, engaging their audience with practical tips and DIY ideas. IKEA also effectively tailors its marketing campaigns and product offerings to suit its markets, and its social media presence showcases products and design solutions with humour and creativity. A recent ad campaign from Ikea has told viewers to “Do try this at home” that encourages everyone to ‘rebel’, whilst still furnishing our homes entirely with Ikea furniture. It’s part of its first-ever global creative that is running across all of the 31 countries that it operates in.
Download the full league table
Want to know more?
If you’d like to know more about the ASK BOSCO® index and find out where your brand sits on our league table rankings, simply get in touch with us at team@askbosco.com – we’d love to hear from you.
