Is an eCommerce or Catalog Site Better for Your Furniture Business?

Helping retailers of Amish furniture get their Amish builders’ products onto a live website is something we’ve been doing at VIZTECH for over 5 years now. We’ve been growing alongside these American retailers to better understand their customers and store image so we can create clean and easy to navigate websites that convert their online traffic into satisfied paying customers. With all we’ve learned, and continue to expand as a company, we wanted to give our current, oncoming, and potential clients a better understanding of the kinds of furniture websites we offer – and which is best for your business. 

The Basics: eCommerce vs. Catalog Sites

The most simple way to break down these two kinds of furniture websites is this way: 

• E-commerce sites offer customers the chance to purchase a product online without ever needing to enter your store. It limits calls and face-to-face interaction with customers and most inquiries or actions will be strictly digital. 

• A catalog site simply lists your product details and images like a catalog, offering the customer a preview before they call for a quote, visit your store, or interact with your staff to place an order. 

Why Do We Offer Both eCommerce and Catalog Sites?

Not all retailers are positioned to handle online sales. They need shipping logistics, a sales team to handle online orders, and they need to be able to handle the customer support questions that come from not being able to see the furniture in person. While this answer may be hard to take in this digital age where everyone is rushing to sell their products online, we hope a further breakdown will help you understand which site really is the better: eCommerce vs. Catalog Sites. Below is a simple, complete breakdown of each site type, but if you’d like to view a quick comparison chart you will find that in the “Side by Side Comparisons” section further down.

Catalog Site: What to Expect

This is currently our more popular option for furniture websites. As we work with retailers to create a catalog site, they can expect these steps, features, customer support, and updates from the package. 

Setup

What we need from the retailer:

• Availability for video/in-person meetings
• Unique brand and domain name 
• Relationships and terms with furniture manufacturers 
• Experience and understanding of selling Amish Furniture 
• Contact list of existing or potential customers 
• Availability for meetings
• Privacy Policies and Warranty/Shipping/Return Details (We will gladly help you create these)
• Best contact email for customer quote requests and query submissions.

Expense

A catalog site has a lower set up cost than an e-commerce site. We have streamlined the website building process so we can be more efficient and personalize your site in a more affordable way. Our prices cover more than the initial setup, it rolls into ongoing tech support, maintenance, and future changes to make your website grow with your business. 

Design

Retailers will receive a full site with a customizable home page, product pages, about info, contact pages, and anything else that will help your business thrive.

• Product Pages: As shown above, catalog product pages include:
  • a dynamic image gallery
  • optional builder name
  • collapsible descriptions and options
  • “Get A Quote” button
  • “See More Options” or a custom button to another landing page
  • and a builder code at the bottom.
• Customization: We want you to be a part of the website building process. Our designers and developers work hard to create layouts that make site speed and visuals appealing to your users, but your ideas help us capture the heart of your business.

Products

• Types of Products: We make adding products easy with our product database. The product database is created from the pictures and printed catalogs provided by the builders. When products are added, removed, or updated by a builder then it is updated on our database and on our website. All you have to do is select the builders you want on your site. You can also upload your own products to the website in addition to the products in our database, and are responsible for communicating changes to these products. These are usually in-stock items sold off the showroom floor.
• Pricing/Stock: Products on a catalog site  cannot be purchased directly online. Instead, customers request a quote, and pricing is typically not visible unless explicitly requested for fixed-price items.

Maintenance

• Product Changes: Before or after a site is launched, it is possible to add new products, remove listings, or edit descriptions. However, things that cannot be changed from our database include photos, categories, or variations. This helps keep your products from experiencing pricing and updating issues. Any products outside of our database, like your custom uploaded products, can be changed to your liking.
• Converting to eCommerce: This is an upgrade available at anytime. A retailer is required to provide product, shipping, and business information detailed in the eCommerce site package. 
• Automatic Updates to the Database: If a product updates on VIZTECH Furniture, your site will automatically be updated through our API. Our in-house developers built this program to push out changes to all of the retail sites without having to manage each of the products individually. These changes are not done in seconds, but quick enough you don’t need to worry about your customers having outdated information. This makes the process more seamless for us and for you.

Training Resources

 We provide training videos on our to manage their own in-stock inventory, blog, as well as landing page and banner updates. 

eCommerce Sites: What to Expect

Examples of a VIZTECH eCommerce Site 

https://ritzmans.com/ (Partial eCommerce) 

https://amishfurnituredirectusa.com/ (Partial eCommerce) 

Setup (For Full or Partial eCommerce)

What we need from the retailer:

• Availability for meetings (in-person/video)
• Unique brand and domain name
• Relationships and terms with furniture manufacturers
• Experience and understanding of selling Amish Furniture
• Contact list of existing or potential customers
• Product pricing (includes options/variables such as wood, stain, hardwoods, etc)
• Desired markup
• Shipping fees/Taxes/Additional fees at checkout
• Account for Payment Gateways (Examples: Stripe, PayPal, Google Pay, etc)
• Privacy/Warranty/Shipping/Return Policies (We can help you create these)
• Best contact email for automated query forms, order confirmation emails, and order updates.

Expense 

eCommerce sites cost more than a standard catalog site. This is due to additional set up for a payment gateway, shopping cart system, and shipping calculators that make online purchases run smoothly. The higher monthly cost will help us obtain a server that can properly run these large sites so visiting users don’t experience lag, buffering images, or broken site pages. Our prices cover more than the initial setup, it rolls into ongoing tech support, maintenance, and future changes to make your website grow with your business. 

Design

Retailers will receive a full site with a customizable home page, product pages, about info, contact pages, and anything else that will help your business thrive.

• Product Pages: eCommerce product pages include:
  • a dynamic image gallery
  • price range
  • optional builder name
  • collapsible descriptions and options
  • a quantity selector
  • an “Add to Cart” button
  • and a builder code at the bottom.
  • If you’d like a Partial eCommerce site (not everything has a set price), the non eCommerce products will include a “Get a Quote” form that is identical to our catalog sites.
• Cart/Checkout Pages:
  • Simple design that matches your color theme
  • Cart items (With ability to add or remove items)
  • Cart total
  • Preview of additional fees and costs
  • Payment gateway options
  • “Checkout” button
• Customization: We want you to be a part of the website building process. Our designers and developers work hard to create layouts that make site speed and visuals appealing to your users, but your ideas help us capture the heart of your business.

Products

• Types of Products: We make adding products easy with our product database. The product database is created from the pictures and printed catalogs provided by the builders. When products are added, removed, or updated by a builder then it is updated on our database and on our website. All you have to do is select the builders you want on your site. You can also upload your own products to the website in addition to the products in our database. (See the Maintenance sections for more details on making changes/updates to these product types )
• Pricing/Stock: Pricing is visible and will change based on the options your customers select. Once they select all the required order details, they can add a product into their cart. eCommerce products are typically CGI, allowing customers to select color/wood/hardware variation options for that product. Most CGI product images update as the customer selects their options for a virtual design experience. All other types of eCommerce products will have one featured image that will not change when variations are selected. Retailers can use their own retail markup for each builder listed on their website that has pricing. Retailers can also tag products as “in-stock” and they can edit the product descriptions for the products on their website.

Maintenance

• Product Changes: Before or after a site is launched, it is possible to add new products, remove listings, or edit descriptions. However, things that cannot be changed from our database include photos, categories, or variations. This helps keep your products from experiencing pricing and updating issues. Any products outside of our database, like your custom uploaded products, can be changed to your liking.
• Automatic Updates to the Database: If a product updates on VIZTECH Furniture, your site will automatically be updated through our API. Our in-house developers built this program to push out changes to all of the retail sites without having to manage each of the products individually. These changes are not done in seconds, but quick enough you don’t need to worry about your customers having outdated information. This makes the process more seamless for us and for you.

Training Resources

 We provide training videos on our to manage their own in-stock inventory, blog, as well as landing page and banner updates. 

Which Site Type Does Your Business Need?

Who should have a catalog site? 

The high price point of Amish made furniture makes it difficult to compete with other online furniture by price alone. Catalog sites hide the price so the quality of your product shines first. When the customer submits a quote request, it gives the retailer an opportunity to build a connection with their customer. We find the retailers who have the best relationships with their customers usually have the best sales margin.  

As we mentioned earlier, not all retailers are positioned to handle online sales. You’ll save yourself stress, time, and money if you can continue to advertise and showcase your furniture accurately, passionately, and professionally with a catalog site.

Who should have eCommerce? 

eCommerce sites can be such a great tool. You cut down some of the wait time by being able to sell products without going back and forth with customer quotes. When the customer knows the price right away, it helps them make an easier decision about purchasing instead of waiting on an email or call from a sales person. 

However, this only can be done seamlessly with the right resources. To make an eCommerce site work like a well-oiled machine, a retailer needs to prepare shipping logistics, in-depth pricing, and have enough sales team staff to handle online orders and inquiries. 

Interested in a VIZTECH Furniture Website Package? 

Our mission is not to create sites to build up our own customer base, it’s to help you build yours. If you think your current website needs a refresh or you want to get your store selection visible on the internet we are here to make that process easier. If you have any questions about the packages we’ve summarized above, or want to get your project rolling our team is available and ready to help. 

You can reach our customer service team by email or phone and they’ll help you directly or transfer you to our sales team.