The Ins and Outs of Ecommerce Furniture Warranties

When an online shopper visits your furniture website, their priority will probably be perusing your product catalogue. Does your store have the types of pieces they’re seeking? Are your prices reasonably within their ballpark budget? Are the materials and fabrics high-quality? What’s your shipping policy for large-ticket items? These are the kinds of questions consumers ask themselves early in the purchase funnel.

But then, as they get closer to narrowing down their wants and needs, they’ll turn their attention to more specific matters—carefully reading the fine print before deciding whether to buy. This is where understanding the ins and outs of ecommerce furniture warranties will help your store.

Why a Warranty?

In an increasingly online marketplace, buyers are looking to establish trust quickly with ecommerce stores. Warranties help reduce the perceived risk in buying a given item—a hugely influential factor when you’re selling something as significant as furniture. Understandably, consumers tend to have higher purchase anxiety when they’re considering making a substantial purchase. An airtight warranty containing certain consumer protections is yet another purchase incentive currently.

Conversely, the lack of a warranty might be a red flag for people shopping for furniture online. If all your competitors offer warranties on their furnishings and home goods, your store will stick out like a sore thumb if you fail to do so. To protect their finances, buyers may choose whichever website can offer them the most protection for the least extra expenditure.

Extended and Lifetime Warranties

Did you know offering add-ons, like an optional extended warranty, can boost customer lifetime value? Customers pick up these extra protections “just in case,” but often do not end up redeeming them for whatever reason. The option to add a relatively inexpensive extended warranty allows a consumer to feel secure in their purchase. They know if something happens to go wrong with that new leather ottoman or contemporary side table, they’ll be covered for a small fee.

The same principle applies with lifetime warranties, although you’ll have to do some math when you open a furniture store to determine a fair cost for this extensive protection. If your website sells large quantities of mass-produced furniture, it may not make sense to offer a lifetime warranty since these products tend to experience a lot of wear-and-tear. If you sell rustic antiques or high-end designer furniture, a lifetime warranty is practically a requisite. Offering a lifetime warranty shows shoppers you stand behind your products fully but may end up costing you big time if you “guarantee” products prone to breakage.

If you do decide to offer an extended or lifetime warranty, consider making it part of your unique selling proposition. In other words, tout quality and trustworthiness as major reasons why shoppers should choose your store. Reinforce this messaging at key points on your website so it becomes part of your overall brand reputation.

Limiting Legal Liability

In some cases, warranties also help protect ecommerce sellers from legal liability. Any product with the potential for misuse, failure or accidental injury may put your store at risk. An effective legal warranty will outline how buyers can and should use products—and reduce your responsibility if something goes awry. Clearly define product limitations within your warranty, and work with a legal professional to come up with any necessary disclaimers, voids and exceptions.

Grasping the ins and outs of ecommerce furniture warranties will, above all, help you reduce purchase anxiety for visitors to your website. The result? Boosted revenue and higher customer lifetime values. It’s also crucial to consider the legal aspects of crafting your warranties so you reduce liability and decrease the chances of misuse.