retail guide
OJOGABONITOO - STOCK.ADOBE.COM16 | JUL.19 http://www.furniturelightingdecor.comC
ustomer convenience is one major
perk of e-commerce. With a few
clicks and some payment informa-
tion, consumers can get almost
anything delivered straight to their door in a
matter of days. And they often want the same
convenience that brought the product to their
home to be available if they need to make a
return. But the consequences associated with
returning lighting fixtures and home furnishings
are often greater and more complicated than
simply sending back a pair of shoes.
“We deal with a lot of lighting, and scale and
functionality are issues that people need help
with,” says Donna Johnson, General Manager
of Filament Home, located in Brookfield,
WI. “And oftentimes when people are using
e-commerce sites, it’s at night after work and
they’re curled up on the couch and shopping,
and maybe even having a glass of wine. They
don’t always make the smartest choices.”
One way to minimize returns is by ensuring
the customer is ordering
the correct product from
the beginning, which can be
difficult if they are not in a
store with experts at the ready.
“We were concerned
about enabling e-commerce
because we didn’t want to
get a ton of returns all of a
sudden,” said Erica Gallagher,
Chief Technology Officer and
Chief Marketing Officer for
Paramont EO in Woodridge,
IL. “That would take away
any potential upside of
selling online if we’re dealing
with returns all day long.
That’s why we entered very
cautiously with a faux e-com-
merce approach to implementation where we
don’t actually execute the order until we’ve
confirmed it with the client. That allows us to
prevent people getting a 16-inch fixture for a
space where they needed a 40-inch one.”REPLICATING THE SHOWROOM EXPERIENCE
Amy Fimbianti, Division Manager of Crest
Lighting, a division of Paramont EO, reviewsevery purchase made through the website
after it is submitted. She first verifies that the
items are in stock, either at the showroom or
from the manufacturer. Then she contacts the
customer to learn more about how the item will
suit their needs.
Crest Lighting’s website asks
customers how they would like
to be contacted, and Fimbianti
says a lot of people choose
email, which can prolong this
process. But no matter the
method of communication, the
content of the conversation is
the same.
“I start talking to them a
little bit about where they’re
putting it, kind of the same
process we would talk to our
customers about if they were
sitting here face to face,” she
says. “’Where are you putting
this? Is it a good scale? Do
you have the right style for the
application? ... How high are the ceilings? Are
you going to get enough overall wattage?’ I
just review the questions as if they were sitting
in front of me.”
Crest Lighting’s method isn’t foolproof,
though. Fimbianti recounted a story from a
customer in New York who purchased an exte-
rior lighting fixture online. She spoke with the
customer to verify that the fixture’s dimensionswould work in the outdoor space. When the
fixture arrived, it was the wrong size. Even after
asking all the right questions, she says, things
can still go wrong.
“But as a whole, we’ve done really, really
well,” Fimbianti adds. “I’ve had a couple that
weren’t exactly what the customer thought they
would be, either finish-wise or something else,
but as a whole, we’ve really not had much in
the way of returns.”
At Filament Home, which has yet to imple-
ment this type of review process, Johnson
would like customers to contact the showroom
with questions before making a purchase.
“I wish people would give us an opportunity
either via email or just on the phone to walk
through their space and how they use it,“ she
says. “Maybe I should be making our site so
that it encourages those people to call. Maybe
they get a slight discount if they call with two
or three questions first so we can guide them
to the right product.”
No matter the method, lighting and
home furnishings retailers implementing an
e-commerce service should consider ways in
which to minimize returns and their associated
costs, environmental impacts and often
complicated logistics.
“It’s really important to not forget the returns
thing,” Gallagher said. “None of us is Amazon,
which can just take returns all day long.”FLDBy Amy McIntoshRETURN TO SENDER
“WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT
ENABLING E-COMMERCE
BECAUSE WE DIDN’T WANT TO
GET A TON OF RETURNS ALL
OF A SUDDEN. THAT WOULD
TAKE AWAY ANY POTENTIAL
UPSIDE OF SELLING ONLINE.”
- Erica Gallagher,
Paramont EO