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This article has been originally published in Biznes.Meble magazine in August '25
B2C in Furniture: Navigating the Customer Journey
B2C in the furniture industry is a minefield. Most who enter do so with naive faith in higher margins. Reality proves brutal. I'm writing here about companies whose situations I've come to know – whether through consultations or implementations of our solutions. I emphasize this because in writing this article, I don't aim to build a detailed analysis. The goal is to share observations about B2C/DTC sales processes.
I'll point out the most frequently recurring mistakes in customer acquisition methods and how to avoid them. I'll also describe why the experience of companies operating in B2B until now isn't sufficient to smoothly launch a channel reaching end customers. All this in the context of understanding the Polish customer's purchasing path. Shall we begin?
I like that moment of brief consternation when, in response to: "I need a 3D configurator," I answer: "OK, but why do you actually think you need one?"
Due to the solutions implemented by our company, I'm most often associated with configurators. It happens that companies see this solution as a cure for all ailments. However, after asking a dozen questions, a picture usually emerges where the lack of this or that technology isn't the problem. Because the problem lies deeper. Where?
The most common situation I encounter in the Polish market is as follows:
Brand X sells in B2C. The owner spent the last 30 years working in a B2B model. While things were good, they were good, but then they stopped being good. Price pressure, competition from Ukraine and Turkey, electricity prices, wood prices, rising labor costs – the list could go on. So an idea is born to launch a B2C or DTC brand, because the margin will be higher. It will be, right? Add to that a somewhat delayed awareness that it's worth diversifying the business and building your own channels to reach end customers.
So a brand is created, an online store, maybe even a showroom and... Nothing. Orders appear sporadically. Results don't compensate for the investment. And the B2C model, which was supposed to be salvation – becomes a source of frustration. And of course, this is generalizing – these are my subjective observations. I also take into account that my view is skewed because naturally, companies that seek help come to us – whether in the form of technology or consultation. If things were good, they wouldn't be seeking that help. However, the pattern described above repeats too often and too precisely to ignore.
So why is the road to selling to retail customers so difficult, bumpy, and potentially leading to catastrophe? Well, not to be so dramatic – potential disappointment?
Let's start with a simple fact: in B2B, a customer buys a product, and in B2C, they buy a vision of life with that product. Furniture isn't just an object. It's a fragment of lifestyle, an element of aspiration, an expression of taste or status.
In B2B, purchase decisions are based on elements such as:
Now let's look at what our end customer will be guided by. Even before we attempt the daunting task of mapping out the purchase path. Here the situation looks quite different. So what will end customers pay attention to? I think each of us already has several types in mind. Let's try to gather them together. The basic difference is obvious – the customer isn't buying "for the company," but for themselves. For their home, for their loved ones. The furniture will accompany the customer in daily life. So how the customer imagines their life translates into their idea of the product they're seeking.
The purchase is therefore subject not so much to economic calculation, but rather to an assessment of compatibility with a certain vision of oneself and life. Emotions, individual sense of aesthetics, impulses, aspirations, and habits come into play. It's worth listing the most important:
The list could go on, but the above covers the most important points. What does this have to do with the titular purchase path? Quite a lot, as it turns out. While each of the above points influences the decision to purchase (or abandon it), their impact varies depending on the stage of decision-making the customer is at. It's our responsibility to guide the customer so that at each stage we provide materials and content that answer the questions the customer is asking (even without realizing it). Without understanding this path and what values are key at each stage, we won't be able to guide the customer through the purchase. As a result, our sales results will be lower (or dramatically lower) than we would expect.
A glance at the above points also helps understand how dangerous building a B2C/DTC offer can become when strategically we're accustomed to B2B cooperation. And such scenarios do happen. Last year, I came across a brand that, having built an online store, consciously fulfilled all orders as personalized (there was no standard offer). To the question "Why?" came the answer – "So the customer can't return it." An interesting way to build trust.
In earlier paragraphs, I mentioned several times the "perceived value" of our product. This is quite an important point that runs through the above non-linear path of our customer and comes down to the question: Will purchasing this product be profitable for me? But remember – we're not in B2B, and our customer isn't homo economicus.
This term was wonderfully developed by Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize laureate in behavioral economics, in the book "Thinking, Fast and Slow." He points to certain simplifications (heuristics) that we unconsciously use to answer 'difficult' questions. For example, Kahneman cites a study in which German students were asked: "How happy have you been lately?" and immediately after: "How many times did you go on a date last month?" The correlation in responses to questions posed this way was close to zero.
But when the order of questions was reversed, the correlation between the number of dates and perceived level of happiness was so high that it couldn't be ignored.
Students who had been on dates in the last month recalled pleasant moments and were in a better mood when answering the question about overall happiness. And likewise, those who hadn't been on dates recalled feelings of loneliness (perhaps rejection). This evoked emotions that fundamentally influenced the answer to the question about overall happiness.
Kahneman draws the conclusion that when we answer a question that requires deeper analysis, we reflexively substitute it with another, simpler one. And so here: the question about overall level of happiness and life satisfaction was unconsciously replaced by respondents with the question: How happy do you feel RIGHT NOW? And a ready answer came to that question.
How can we transfer this knowledge to our field? Well, similar to Kahneman's study, our customer also doesn't make decisions based on cold, calculated analysis of product features and quality-to-price ratio. Instead, often unconsciously, they answer the question: Do I feel good right now, at this moment, about this purchase?
This means that the so-called "perceived value" of a product isn't the sum of its technical features or a list of functions. It's an impression we build here and now. A set of emotions, feelings, associations, and beliefs that we manage to anchor in the customer's mind. And here lies the difference between a visit to a showroom and a cold analysis of the offer received there. Between fabric samples and visualization in the chosen fabric. Between conversation with a real person and browsing FAQs.
If during interaction with our offer, the customer feels excitement, aesthetic satisfaction, peace resulting from clear information, they "feel good about this decision." This feeling will replace the more difficult question: Is this definitely a profitable choice?
That's why all mandatory points, such as aesthetic product presentation, UX of our online store, emotional tone of narrative, social proof, availability, etc., won't matter much if they aren't tied into one cohesive purchase journey during which the customer has contact with our brand at every stage. Building value happens ALL THE TIME – from first contact with our product and continues even after making the purchase.
Using an example – even the best showroom won't help if we don't ensure that the materials the customer receives at the showroom are an extension of the emotions built by the visit. And that's why I express justified doubts every time I hear that an offer in the form of an A4 sheet with price and list of modules will be fully sufficient for the customer to return to the showroom and decide to purchase.
So what is this purchase path (or 'funnel')? Perhaps let's say what it isn't. And it isn't... a path. At least not in a linear sense. The AIDA model (Attention – Interest – Desire – Action) still haunts marketers. It was designed for newspaper advertisements by Elias Elmo Lewis in 1898, over 120 years ago. It relates to today's realities as those combustion engines relate to today's hybrids. The principle is similar, but not quite. In both cases – today it's a bit more complicated. And while with fast-moving consumer goods one could argue that the above model applies, in the case of furniture – definitely not.
So let's first distinguish our customer's motivations and how they evolve. Not from the point of view of our actions, but precisely the needs of our future customer. I would indicate 4 stages: inspiration/need, information gathering/education, product viewing/testing, decision/purchase
At first glance, these are different motivations. But both can equally accompany the first contact with our product. That is – I have a sofa, it's OK, I even like it, but scrolling through Pinterest in the evening I came across another one that I like better. To such an extent that I'm starting to consider buying it, even though I didn't feel such a need before. Or the second scenario – I know my sofa already needs replacing, or I simply don't like it, so naturally I pay attention to possibilities that will appear to me in the depths of the Internet. For simplicity, let's assume our future customer doesn't know our brand. At this stage, they know nothing about us or the product. They only know the product caught their attention.
What the customer pays attention to: appearance/aesthetics, price (for now only to a limited extent, answering the question: Can I even afford this?)
Touchpoints: online ads (Google, Facebook, Pinterest, and others), sales showrooms.
At this stage, the customer starts considering options. They may not be planning a purchase yet, treating research as a 'free time' activity. They begin to be interested in both the product itself and our brand. They check other customers' opinions, perhaps visit the showroom and talk to a salesperson. The customer at this stage probably won't make a purchase yet. A visit to our showroom is simply another point on the educational list. If it's a customer focused on online, they'll check our website and possibilities for customizing furniture to individual requirements. This is an interesting moment if we analyze it in terms of furniture personalization (and due to my occupation, I have some professional bias in this direction).
Even if our product is a modular sofa that can be made in any fabric, giving this possibility to the customer at this moment would be a mistake. Remember – the customer is just exploring options. Knowledge and trust that such personalization will be possible at the appropriate stage are sufficient. This will work better than a complicated tool. Aspects such as delivery or financing terms may matter at this stage, but they don't have to yet. What's important from the customer's point of view is the feeling that they understand what the product is and that our brand's communication (verbal-visual) resonates with them.
Touchpoints: website/online store, sales showrooms, all opinion aggregators, our distributors' stores, ads (remarketing), our social media (including YouTube – sometimes a video presentation of the product will be more important to the customer than technical specifications), newsletter (if it exists), comparison sites/marketplaces, recommendations from friends/family.
What the customer pays attention to: social proof (recommendations), price in terms of perceived value. How will I feel if I make this purchase?
At this stage, the customer already has a preliminary opinion about the product. They have the knowledge gathered during the education stage and an opinion on whether the product is attractive. Now they verify it with reality. Most often this will be a showroom visit (but with a different motivation than in point 2 – now the customer comes with a specific purpose, saying: "I'm checking"). Or ordering fabric samples. It can also be (if we offer such a solution) – building their own furniture in our configurator, to obtain its final visualization and receive an offer (at this stage, a configurator covering everything we can offer is justified; it's worth considering creating a more complex version of the configurator for use only by showroom staff). Remember that product testing can also occur completely outside our purchase funnel. For example, at friends' who bought our furniture. Did we ensure they would recommend not only our product with a clear conscience, but also the purchase process itself, its delivery, etc.?
Touchpoints: sales showroom, sampler, product page, configurator, customers who already bought.
What the customer pays attention to: Consistency of the message with what they can see/verify. At stages 1 and 2, we had the opportunity to build a certain product value and its perception by the customer. Now this perceived value is subject to verification.
Here the principle works: every detail that doesn't play out is a pretext to postpone the decision. Everything that doesn't 'work' can lead to the customer fleeing to the competition. And most often these won't be matters related to the product, but rather such points as: Is the purchase process (cart view) clear? Does the online store clearly show financing options? Did the visit to our showroom dispel doubts to the same extent as a visit to a competitor's showroom (the customer won't tell us this!), is the turnaround time satisfactory?
If the Reader is in the group I'm writing about here and conducts B2C/DTC sales, I recommend the following question: When was the last time I visited a competitor's showroom and compared it with my service? When was the last time I did a comparative analysis of purchases in my online store and in competitors' stores? Of course, such an exercise can be delegated (so-called Mystery shopper), but if we're at the beginning of the journey, we should absolutely do it ourselves.
And how does it look in practice? More complicated than it might seem after reading the above points, because each step can take place at any point of contact with our brand (or many of them), the customer also often goes back, e.g., from the decision stage – even to the inspiration stage (because they found a product they didn't know before, or generally changes their idea of how to solve their problem, e.g., instead of a sofa bed they start considering a bed).
So again – the key to success will be writing out as many possible customer paths as possible and considering whether gaps arise in our communication. Let's look at 3 examples. They may sound non-standard, but I'm deliberately embellishing them:
However – horror of horrors – opposite our showroom is a competitor brand's showroom. Let's assume the competing brand offers a similar level in the price/quality relationship. The customer also directs their steps there and starts considering buying their product. What can we do not to deliver a customer to the competition at our expense?
Suggestions/examples: retargeting campaign is mandatory, plus if we obtained the customer's email address – newsletter. But not the generic one about everything and nothing, but tailored to customers who reached the product testing stage. However, it's also worth paying attention to details, such as the form of the offer the customer left our showroom with. The customer will remember us better if they feel that coming to the showroom "paid off." And I don't mean proposing a discount right away. Rather receiving something that cannot be obtained online. This can be, for example, a well-prepared offer.
What does that mean? If our product is a modular sofa, the customer should leave with an offer that contains a visualization of the specific, chosen arrangement in the fabric they selected. Really, it's 2025 and there are appropriate tools for this. If our competitor across the street acts like most brands in the market, we can be calm. The customer will receive an A4 sheet with price and listed modules. At best with a drawing of the sofa or a generic photo that happened to be on the website.
Chose a bed. One of 150 in our offer. An order for fabric samples was placed. A few days later, when the customer received the sampler, they try to find that one model that so delighted them. But for some reason they can't. Frustration grows. After which the customer states – since I already have the sampler and know which fabric I like, I might as well check with the competition.
Suggestions/examples: such a situation is surprisingly common and dangerous because it's difficult for the online store owner to imagine. This is the effect of the so-called curse of knowledge. It's hard for us to imagine how difficult it can be for a customer who simply doesn't know our offer to navigate it. We assume that if they find something, they'll save it. Wrong. Plus simple to fix. First – retargeting. Let's ensure the customer sees the products they viewed. Second – using very simple automation, we can print on the fabric sampler (e.g., in the form of a sticker) the name of the product the customer viewed last before ordering the sampler. Or even include a QR code linking to that very product. A small detail, yet it specifically allows maintaining continuity of contact with our brand and product.
The pattern is OK, price initially too. They land in our showroom. Finally confirm (in their mind) that this is it. But they say: "I need to think about it." After which they search for a cheaper offer in other stores. This is particularly burdensome for showrooms of those brands whose products are also available in online stores.
Suggestions/examples: Since we know this is a typical situation, it's worth addressing it proactively. I work with a monobrand showroom of a premium sofa manufacturer in Poznań. The owner took a very simple strategy – tells the customer straight out that he's aware of competition's prices. And that if the customer finds a better price, he's able to match it. Plus propose specific benefits from buying in this particular showroom – e.g., own transport, 'white glove delivery' (delivery with bringing in, assembly, etc.). If you're in a similar situation, consider what value the customer will derive from buying from you specifically. Nothing comes to mind? I don't believe it, think again. Or write to me on LinkedIn, I'll prove to you that it's possible.
The above examples could be multiplied endlessly, but that's not the point here. I strongly encourage analyzing several scenarios of possible customer paths. To check whether at each stage of our customer's purchase path (inspiration, education/comparison, product testing, purchase), we have touchpoints with the brand that respond to their current need.
Additionally, it's worth performing the aforementioned comparative analysis: how does the purchase process itself fare with us compared to the competition? And ultimately, you need to answer the question: If I were a customer, would I want to buy my product, or would the competition tempt me?
