Amazon Actively Recruiting Furniture Manufacturers to Its Platform

High Point, NC, May 23, 2017-At last month’s High Point Market, Amazon was on site recruiting furniture manufacturers to its platform, reports Furniture Today. 

This “…reinforced the e-commerce giant’s relentless effort to gain a foothold in furniture and highlighted the undeniable importance of the Internet in shaping the furniture industry’s future,” said Furniture Today chief content officer Bill McLoughlin.

“While brick-and-mortar furniture sales have grown at a low single-digit pace the last several years, Internet sales of home furnishings-including full-size furniture-have been growing by approximately 13% annually, according to Furniture Today figures. And while the total dollars remain comparatively small-e-commerce currently accounts for approximately 11% of furniture and bedding sales-it’s clear that brick-and-mortar retail will need to adapt to remain competitive in the age of the Internet,” notes Furniture Today.

The article points to the fact that these disruptors face down what some see as the negatives of buying home furnishings online-namely, the inability to see and touch the product before purchase-by offering a good buying experience and/or low cost. Area rugs fall within the home furnishings category.