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Thread: Covid-19 and how it will change the way you shop?

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
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    15,890

    Default Re: Covid-19 and how it will change the way you shop?

    H&M is going to fix me up with a "shop at home" kit, however it may be a couple of weeks before it arrives at my store. If you would like to be the first one to get it, send me an email at keepingroom@gmail.com with your name, address and phone number. I will require a credit card for deposit and shipping.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  2. #12

    Default Re: Covid-19 and how it will change the way you shop?

    Quote Originally Posted by drcollie View Post
    H&M is going to fix me up with a "shop at home" kit, however it may be a couple of weeks before it arrives at my store. If you would like to be the first one to get it, send me an email at keepingroom@gmail.com with your name, address and phone number. I will require a credit card for deposit and shipping.
    Done - thanks!

  3. #13
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Posts
    563

    Default Re: Covid-19 and how it will change the way you shop?

    I think comparison videos of different construction techniques would be helpful and pretty cool. I know it is hard to compare brands because even within brands there is different build quality, or might open up someone to lawyer letters (as baseless as they may be). But something like a deconstruction of a hardwood frame vs plywood, what keys to look for at the furniture store, what the trade offs might be worth it for cost and which to just walk away. I am sure this would be expensive to do to cut up some furniture, but maybe could be done with used pieces?

    I also agree it would be nice if companies like H&M and B&Y and Stickley and others would put prices on their websites. Even if it was MSRP which no one pays, it would still inform consumers about the relative costs and they can do the math themselves. Really the whole price obfuscation and variability model is of NO benefit to the consumer, and is an active detriment to customer satisfaction to every industry that does it (see: car shopping). I would really prefer just up front published pricing but I know pretty much the whole industry is not built that way.

    Even all that is aimed at consumer education and narrowing down choices. I think most people, myself included, don't have a big appetite for buying furniture without sitting on it, and would still want to visit a store to make the final decision.

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
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    Default Re: Covid-19 and how it will change the way you shop?

    Teardowns of furniture is the stuff of Consumer Reports and beyond the scope of a retail merchant. I do photo essays when I'm in the factories and post them here, quite frankly trying to make videos and editing them would be a full time job. Too intensive!

    I do post MSRP prices from the makers that supply me with .pdf formats. Some are here on the forum. I don't get much feedback on it from people, so it's not a priority to do so. I don't think manufactures want to post them because they are ridiculously high for the Decorators, who have to show something to their clients in print. Example "Here's this sofa, its $ 9,000 MSRP as you can see here, but I can get $ 1,000 off on it and sell it to you for $ 8,000." Meanwhile, if the client spend the time they could come to The Keeping Room and buy the same sofa for $ 4,400. But that's why they have it set up like that.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Posts
    76

    Default Re: Covid-19 and how it will change the way you shop?

    Have you considered converting the catalogs and PDFs into a database? The database can then be used on the back end with an e-commerce angle if you so wish, but could also help you be more efficient in doing quotes on speed some of the new business models you are contemplating require.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
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    15,890

    Default Re: Covid-19 and how it will change the way you shop?

    Yes I have. It would require I hire someone full-time to manage it with the huge number of sku's from the makers. Hancock and Moore along has appx 14,000 prices, and Century furniture has to be about 100,000. Plus I don't know the first thing about databases or how to set them up! I could incorporate that into a Point of Sale system and tried to do that about 8 years ago, but the project was too much for a one person operation.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
    Posts
    69

    Default Re: Covid-19 and how it will change the way you shop?

    I wonder if H&M will still insist on price for remote/internet purchases being higher than in store. I believe that you did mention something about it before.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    Alexandria VA
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    Default Re: Covid-19 and how it will change the way you shop?

    That has gone away when they sold the company to Century. Seems there is less "Rocking Of The Boat" than in years past, when clients would take a print out of a quote and walk it into their local dealer asking for a price match. That always made everything go nuclear and new policies go into effect on pricing. That has not happened in a few years, so perhaps people are realizing that to do that hurts them in the long run as consumers.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    22

    Default Re: Covid-19 and how it will change the way you shop?

    Is Hancock & Moore open for new orders or are they just filling the ones they had before the shutdown?

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
    Posts
    15,890

    Default Re: Covid-19 and how it will change the way you shop?

    Hancock and Moore is open and taking new orders, with production, however they are running a limited staff right now. Not everyone wanted to return to work because of Covid-19 concerns, so they are at about 1/3 of staff and workers. Expect longer build times right now, and I am not currently doing things like cushion core replacements until they return to full strength. FYI they have no employees testing positive at any of their plants they tell me, and have stringent mask and glove requirements in place.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

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