A Furniture Store Scenario
Product Ideation Use case
4 min readMay 9, 2024
Use case:
A Furniture store in Bangalore operates a chain of three physical stores but there are still buyers the company can cater to.
As a Business Analyst, how do you help the company to expand business leading to inventory & revenue?
Goal: Launch an e-commerce website.
- Questions about the business:
- Is the business profitable?
- What is the current customer segment?
- What are the pain points customers face when purchasing furniture?
- How many locations does Furniture operate?
- What is the current sales volume and revenue of the stores?
- What is the online presence of Furniture?
- What are the logistical capabilities for shipping furniture?
- What is the budget allocated for building an e-commerce website?
- What are the competitors’ strategies in the online furniture market?
2. Assumptions:
- Target Group: {Bangalore, Middle-class, working audience}
2.1 TAM (Total Addressable Market)
- The population size of the geographic regions where its stores are located or where it plans to operate its e-commerce platform.
- The percentage of the population that falls within its target demographic for furniture purchases.
- The average annual expenditure on furniture within those regions.
- Any market trends or growth projections for the furniture industry in those regions.
2.2 Define TG (Target Group) from TAM
- Potential customers interested in purchasing furniture:
This includes individuals or households looking to buy furniture for their homes, offices, and institutions, both online and offline. - Online shoppers:
Specifically, individuals who prefer to shop for furniture online rather than visiting physical stores. - Tech-savvy consumers:
People who are comfortable using e-commerce platforms and technology to make purchases. - Homeowners and renters:
Those who are in need of furniture for their living spaces, regardless of whether they own or rent their homes. - Potential partners or collaborators:
These could include other businesses or platforms interested in partnering with Fancy Furniture to expand its online presence or reach new customer segments.
3. Aggregation Model
- Partnering with multiple furniture manufacturers & suppliers, and local vendors with no marketplace to create a comprehensive catalogue of product categories like ergonomic, rental-friendly, space-savers, multipurpose, and kid-friendly.
- Logistics with economical & environment-friendly packaging for the safe transfer of furniture from manufacturer/supplier to furniture shop owner to the user’s homes.
- Integrating with third-party logistics and delivery services to ensure efficient and reliable shipping of furniture items to customers on or less than the estimated timeframe.
- Collaborating with interior designers or decorators to offer additional services such as virtual consultations or personalized recommendations.
- Implementing a user-friendly online platform that aggregates various furniture products, allowing customers to browse, compare, and purchase items conveniently. Eg: Partner with Urban Ladder, and Royal Oak (No Ikea as they are already giants)
- Providing comprehensive product information, including specifications, dimensions, materials, and customer reviews, to facilitate informed purchasing decisions.
- Offering flexible payment options and competitive pricing to attract a wide range of customers.
4. MVP comprises of:
- CRM is setup with CRUD operations with product descriptions, high quality images, payment gateway, Support with call back option
- Develop a basic e-commerce website with essential features like product listings, shopping carts, and checkout.
- Implement a user-friendly interface with easy navigation and clear product descriptions.
5. Identifying Personas:
- Inventory is updated in real-time & used by admins of all three stores for the items displayed on the e-commerce portal. When an item goes out of stock, ensure notification/order is place by collecting user details.
- Homeowners looking for stylish and affordable furniture for a new house or renovating a house
- Interior designers seeking unique pieces for their projects to grab more consultations from customers
- Online shoppers prefer convenience and a wide selection of furniture with the adrenaline of visualising their house using online software with real-time measurements & manifesting by ordering it.
6. Hypothesis and validating them:
- Hypothesis: Offering a diverse range of furniture styles will attract a broader customer base.
Validation: Conduct market research and analyze customer preferences to determine the most popular furniture styles. - Hypothesis: Providing virtual room visualization tools will enhance the online shopping experience.
Validation: Gather feedback from customers through surveys or focus groups to assess the usefulness of virtual room visualization. - Hypothesis: Launch only the most sold items & mark the rest as coming soon
Validation: Gather feedback from customers through surveys - Hypothesis: Launch COD in the initial phases for MVP instead of integration with payment gateways & commissions.
Validation: Gather feedback from customers through surveys
7. Outcome-focused success criteria:
- Increase in online sales revenue by 30% within the first year of launching the e-commerce website.
- Acquisition by expansion of the customer base (TAM) to include younger demographics and online shoppers.
- Improved customer satisfaction ratings (CSAT) for the online shopping experience.
- Positive feedback from customers regarding the variety and quality of furniture available online.
- Average bill orders spike up to every quarter with offers, using recommendation engines like “People who buy this, will also buy that” using the existing data & buyer patterns.
- Retention of users (1st baby, 2nd baby/upgradation, guest room, house-help's room, etc)
- Exchange offers for loyal customers or early customers (as requirements change with discounts)