Furniture shopping used to be done by driving around town, visiting all the furniture retailers until just the right sofa or table was found. This could be very time consuming, not to mention expensive if the furniture is not bought on sale. Another option has emerged as furniture “e-tailers” (online retailers) have popped up on the web. These websites offer shoppers many benefits unavailable at conventional retailers.

The main advantage of shopping for furniture online is the selection available. While some e-tailers cater to specific types of furniture, such as office or that made of wood, some strive to be a one stop shop for all consumers' needs. With the right e-tailer a shopper can literally furnish an entire house from kids' rooms to home offices – all from a single source. A handful of websites offer hundreds of styles, finishes and fabrics for each piece of furniture. This is possible because e-tailers are not hindered by limited physical showroom space; their websites are their showrooms. With this kind of selection, the shopper is bound to find just the right look, color, and accents for any and every room.

Another benefit of online furniture shopping is the convenience of shopping from the comfort of your home. There's no need to drive around town from store to store. In fact, there's no need to even get dressed. Online shopping from home also makes it easier to envision a prospective piece of furniture in the intended room.

Because online retailers never close, furniture shopping can be done at the purchaser's convenience. No more juggling time or being inconvenienced by having to work around the retailers' schedules. Shoppers can browse and buy when it is best for them – not when it is best for someone else.

Perhaps the most significant factor affecting a shopper's decision to purchase furniture online is cost savings. Most furniture e-tailers offer pricing considerably lower than that of available from local retailers. This is due to lower overhead. E-tailers do not have to maintain brick and mortar retail locations in expensive commercial areas. They only need retail space which is much less expensive than retail space. E-tailers have no salespeople to pay, also contributing to a reduction in overhead. Another major advantage e-tailers have over local retailers is a much larger sales area instead of being limited to a customer base within, say, 100 mile radius, online retailers can reach and sell to customers all over the country. This creates a larger economy of scale meaning that the higher sales volume reduces the vendors' cost from sale. Because e-tailers are able to save money themselves, they are able to pass those savings along to their customers.

Many people believe that price is indicative of quality, meaning the more an item costs the better the quality must be. That is not necessarily the case. Take for instance, a leather sofa that is for sale at a local retailer for $5000. Based on the price, it's fairly safe to assume that the sofa is of good quality. On the other hand, that exact same sofa (same materials, construction, warranty – everything identical) is available online for $3500. Is the $5000 sofa of higher quality just because it costs $1500 more? Highly doubtful! In fact, the lower priced sofa is simply a better value with no difference in quality.

One thing to be aware of when shopping for furniture online is shipping costs. There are several e-tailers who offer free shipping on every order. While this can be very enticing, consumers must be aware that nothing is “free” and shipping expenses must be received somewhere – usually by padding the price of the furniture. Sometimes this can still work to the advantage of the customer, but it provides no discounts for larger orders or multiple items. Other e-tailers charge shipping based on weight and mass of the items ordered, the distance from the warehouse to the order destination, and the number of items being shipped on a single order. This gives the vendor the ability to offer discounts on shipping based on various factors.

Customer service does not have to be sacrificed in order to shop online. Just because a consumer avoids the high pressure salesman, he does not have to give up personal service. There are online furniture vendors who pride themselves in providing stellar service by live, knowledgeable representatives. By receiving excellent customer service, an online shopper avoids the feeling of anonymity that can occur when doing business over the internet.

Online furniture retailers are improving the way consumers shop for furniture. Due to the lower overhead and economies of scale, furniture e-tailers can offer competitive pricing in high quality furniture. Without limits set by finite retail space, these e-tailers are able to offer a much more extensive selection to suit many different tastes and needs of their customers. Consumers now have the convenience – the online stores are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Additionally, some furniture e-tailers have been able to maintain excellent customer service without customers having to endure the high-pressure sales approach. It's certainly a win-win situation for both the consumers and vendors.