Why Should Customers Still Visit a Furniture Store Today?Five Ways Brick-and-Mortar Furniture Retailers Can Drive Differentiation and Foot Traffic Despite Weak Demand

The German furniture market continues to face a challenging environment.

In 2025, the market volume for residential and office furniture fell by 1.1 percent to 23.9 billion euros. At the same time, e-commerce regained momentum. While large furniture retail chains largely maintained their positions, smaller specialized furniture retailers came under increasing pressure.

The start of 2026 brought no significant relief either. In the first quarter, revenue in the German furniture industry was 3 percent below the previous year's level. On the domestic German market, the decline was 4.7 percent. In the living, dining, and bedroom furniture segment, as well as furniture components, revenue even dropped by 7.7 percent.

The weak demand is therefore very real.

Many households are postponing major purchases, comparing prices more intensely, and taking longer to deliberate before deciding on a new dining table, sofa, or dining set.

For brick-and-mortar furniture retailers, this raises a crucial question:

Why should customers still come to a physical furniture store today when they can compare products, prices, and reviews online?

The answer cannot lie exclusively in steeper discounts, more advertising, or even more products.

In a cautious market, physical furniture retail needs one thing above all: a clear reason for an in-person visit.

The Problem Isn't Just Weak Demand

When sales decline, many retailers react similarly.

They expand their discount campaigns, add extra models to their assortment, invest in promotional flyers, or try to generate attention with constantly changing special offer prices.

In the short term, such measures can work. However, they do not automatically create a distinguishable positioning.

Many furniture stores display similar shades, similar materials, and similar product shapes. Gray and beige upholstery, ceramic or stone-look tabletops, black metal frames, and red discount signs can be found almost everywhere.

For the customer, this makes it increasingly difficult to see why they should visit or buy from that specific store.

When the assortment, presentation, and communication appear interchangeable, only one easily understood comparison criterion often remains:

the price.

Especially small and medium-sized furniture retailers should therefore not exclusively ask themselves:

How can we offer cheaper prices?

The more important question is:

What can customers experience, understand, or choose with us that they cannot get in the same form from a large chain or an online shop?

1. Less Interchangeable Products, More Clear-Cut Sales Roles

Differentiation does not necessarily start with a completely new product.

Often, it begins with a clearer assortment structure.

Many showrooms contain too many models that differ only slightly from one another. To the buyer, each model might have its own item number and technical specification. To the end customer, however, ten chairs might look nearly identical.

This does not automatically lead to more choice. It can also lead to uncertainty.

A compelling assortment should therefore not only be structured by product categories. Each model should fulfill a recognizable sales role.

An entry-level model can offer an accessible price. A comfort model can win customers over with a pocket spring core or a more ergonomic seat structure. A functional model can offer immediately recognizable added value with a 180-degree swivel and auto-return function. A design model can attract attention through a special fabric texture, characteristic stitching, or an unusual combination of wood and metal.

Even an exclusive fabric, a unique frame color, or a material combination developed specifically for the retailer can make direct comparison difficult.

A showroom therefore doesn't necessarily need fifteen similar gray dining chairs.

Perhaps five clearly positioned models are more convincing:

• an accessible entry-level model,

• a functional swivel chair,

• a particularly comfortable chair,

• a design-oriented model,

• and an exclusive variant that is not available everywhere.

The decisive factor is that the sales staff can explain the difference between these models in just a few sentences.

Because a good chair is not automatically a highly sellable chair.

It only becomes a strong retail product when customers quickly understand why it exists, who it is suitable for, and why it costs more or less than the model next to it.

2. Making the Advantage of Brick-and-Mortar Retail Truly Tangible

Physical furniture retail has a decisive advantage over pure e-commerce:

Customers can see, touch, try out, and compare furniture.

However, this advantage is not always utilized consistently.

In many showrooms, products are ready to be tested, but the differences between the models are not actively brought to life. The customer sits down briefly, looks at the price tag, and moves on to the next chair.

A simple display could instead become a guided product experience.

With dining chairs, for example, customers could directly compare:

• standard foam and pocket spring cores,

• fixed and swivel frames,

• 180-degree and 360-degree swivel functions,

• different seat heights and seat depths,

• wood and metal frames,

• soft, textured, and easy-care upholstery fabrics.

This transforms the sales pitch.

The salesperson no longer just has to claim that a certain model is more comfortable. The customer can experience the difference themselves.

Fabric samples, too, should not be presented exclusively as small, flat swatches. A fabric looks different on a full backrest than it does on a sample card. Color, light, stitching, curves, and padding significantly influence the overall impression.

A fabric wall can therefore be supplemented with complete seat or backrest modules. Customers could not only look at different materials but compare their effect on a finished piece of furniture.

Online, images, dimensions, and prices can be displayed well.

What is much harder to convey digitally is the seating feel, the tactile quality of the fabrics, true color tones, material transitions, stability, and proportions.

A brick-and-mortar furniture store should make exactly these differences visible and understandable.

3. Don't Sell Individual Products, Solve Specific Living Situations

Customers aren't always just looking for a table or a chair.

Often, they are seeking confidence in a decision.

Does the table size fit the room? Which chair height works with the existing tabletop? Does the fabric look too dark? How many people can sit comfortably? Is the surface suitable for a household with children? Can the table be extended for guests?

A furniture store can answer these questions far better than a standard product page.

To do this, however, the showroom must be structured more from the perspective of real-life living situations.

Instead of placing a large number of individual dining tables and chairs next to each other, concrete solutions can be shown:

A compact dining set for a city apartment. An extendable table for four people that offers room for eight when guests arrive. An easy-care combination for families with children. A comfort-oriented dining set for customers who sit at the table for long periods. An elegant solution for an open-plan living and dining area.

This also changes the perception of price.

The customer no longer compares exclusively the price of a single chair. They evaluate a complete solution for their living situation.

For the retailer, this approach opens up additional opportunities.

Matching chairs, tables, benches, rugs, lighting, and accessories can be offered together. This not only makes the decision easier but can also increase the average order value.

A good room concept conveys to the customer:

This is what it could look like in your home.

Exactly this certainty is one of the strongest reasons for an in-person visit.

4. Consultations Must Offer More Than Product Information

Many customers today arrive at a furniture store better informed than they were a few years ago.

They have already saved pictures, compared prices, read reviews, and visited different providers.

If the sales staff merely repeats dimensions, materials, and delivery times, hardly any added value is created.

Consultation becomes valuable when it simplifies a complex decision.

A good consultant, for example, should be able to explain:

• which seat height matches an existing dining table,

• which upholstery fabric is suitable for a busy family life,

• when an auto-return function makes sense,

• how different frames look on various types of flooring,

• which colors can be combined in the long term,

• and which table size suits the room and the number of users.

Thus, the salesperson evolves from a reader of a product data sheet into a decision-making partner.

Furniture stores can also actively use this expertise to drive foot traffic.

Conceivable ideas include personal furnishing appointments, a dining room consultation by appointment, fabric and color days, or a consultation where customers bring photos and measurements of their room.

Even simple formats can work:

"Bring a photo of your dining table – we will show you which chair shapes and colors match it."

Such an invitation is more concrete than a generic "Visit our showroom."

It gives the customer a comprehensible reason to take action.

5. Create a Concrete Occasion for the Visit

A furniture store can have a great showroom and still receive too few visitors.

Because quality alone does not answer the question:

Why should the customer come this week?

Generic statements like "Discover our large selection" or "Visit us on-site" rarely create urgency.

Concrete, time-limited events that offer a recognizable benefit are more successful.

A furniture store could, for example, host a comfort testing day where customers compare different seating systems. Another option would be a consultation week for small dining areas or a presentation of new fabric and color concepts.

Local collaborations can also generate additional attention.

A furniture store can partner with interior designers, kitchen studios, real estate agencies, fabric manufacturers, or regional gastronomy businesses. This creates new target groups and credible content that goes beyond a classic discount campaign.

The decisive difference lies in the communication.

Not:

We have new chairs in our showroom.

But rather:

Test five different seating comfort systems in one day and find out which one suits your dining area.

Not:

Many fabric colors available.

But rather:

Bring a photo of your room and let us show you which colors harmonize with your floor, table, and lighting.

A concrete experience is easier to understand, share, and remember than a generic sales promise.

Differentiation Doesn't End at the Store Door

A strong brick-and-mortar concept does not mean that digital channels become less important.

On the contrary: E-commerce and physical stores must complement each other.

German e-commerce regained momentum in 2025. Further online growth was also expected in the living and furnishing sector.

The task of digital communication should therefore not merely consist of showing products online.

It should create a reason to subsequently experience the products in the store.

LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, newsletters, and the company's own website can show, for example:

• which models are new in the showroom,

• which differences customers can test on-site,

• how a consultation works,

• which combinations are suitable for specific rooms,

• or which event is taking place next.

This turns the digital channel not into a competitor of the physical branch, but into the gateway for a store visit.

Manufacturers Must Also Redefine Their Role

In a difficult market, it is no longer enough for a furniture manufacturer to simply provide a catalog, a price list, and a large number of new models.

A good supplier should also support the retailer in building an assortment that is easier to explain, easier to present, and harder to compare directly.

This includes, for example:

• clearly delineated product roles,

• logical price tiers,

• curated instead of overloaded color concepts,

• exclusive fabric or frame combinations,

• comprehensible information on comfort and function,

• sales arguments for the staff,

• high-quality images and videos,

• as well as reliable product, testing, and packaging data.

At ASKT, we increasingly view product development from this perspective as well.

The question is not just:

Can we produce this chair?

Equally important is:

Can a furniture retailer clearly explain the difference, present it convincingly, and sell it profitably?

A technical feature only possesses genuine commercial value if it becomes relevant in everyday sales.

An auto-return function, for example, can help ensure that chairs in the showroom remain neatly aligned. A pocket spring core can create an immediately tangible difference in comfort. An exclusive fabric color can reduce direct comparability.

Manufacturers should therefore not just deliver products.

They should help retailers turn products into a highly sellable assortment.

Conclusion: More Choice Does Not Automatically Mean More Differentiation

In a weak furniture market, it is understandable to react to lower demand with promotions, additional products, and lower prices.

In the long run, however, foot traffic is not generated by discounts alone.

It is generated when consumers see a clear reason to personally visit a specific furniture store.

This reason can be a better-curated selection. A compelling consultation. A directly tangible difference in comfort. A complete solution for their own room. An exclusive product variant. Or an event that offers concrete guidance.

Brick-and-mortar furniture stores do not have to try to function like an online shop with floor space.

Their strength lies precisely in what is difficult to replace online:

Experiencing products, understanding differences, and making decisions with greater certainty.

The crucial question for furniture retailers is therefore not just:

How do we get more people through the door?

But rather:

What concrete reason are we giving people to open precisely our door?