The online furniture brand lays the foundations for trade-oriented marketing

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — E-commerce furniture brand Industry West has redoubled its efforts to attract commercial customers, updating its website earlier this year to appeal to trade customers and launching a separate business-to-business portal this month.

Revenue from commercial clients focused on hospitality, offices, restaurants and large commercial projects such as pre-furnished apartments has increased from about 10% to 20% to between 30% and 35%, said Ian Leslie, chief marketing officer, although at times even reached 45%.

He said the brand started out in the retail space, but during the pandemic its focus shifted towards the consumer market, which has significantly increased online home furnishings purchases.

Now, however, consumers have pulled back on spending, and the e-commerce space is more competitive with many players that entered the market during the pandemic.

“We operate in a unique niche,” Leslie explained. “We are a traditional e-commerce company with a strong consumer aesthetic, but also serving commerce. We are a curious animal.

“We love our consumers and consumer buyers,” he said, but that customer is more expensive to achieve and satisfy. With all the economic changes happening around us, it is difficult to compete with some models,” he said, citing offers from some online players such as free returns. “Trade is where our margins are made.”

Trade customers are also more likely to repurchase and come back for second and third purchases, Leslie said. He added that this is more true for commercial trades than for interior designers.

Industry West, which serves interior designers and B2B trade, is segmenting these two channels, creating a separate portal for its commercial clients, which will debut in mid-June. Both will have access to discounts, but B2B customers will also receive personalized catalogs showing what’s in stock, what’s out of stock and when it will be available, and will also have access to products not offered to consumers.

Instead of offering trade discounts based on the number of items ordered, Industry West opted for a tiered model in which discounts increase as the dollar amount of the order increases. Discounts start at 20% on orders up to $10,000 and go up to 30% on orders $25,000 and more.

To better reach the industry, Industry West attended several trade shows and conducted unconventional marketing activities, such as placing a custom advertising skin on a delivery truck in New York. However, Leslie said the main focus will be on marketing to top B2B customers, educating them about available solutions and encouraging them to use the new portal.

In March, the company launched a new website, created by web developer Domaine, to be accessible to a dual audience of consumers and commercial audiences.

Both groups, Leslie said, “still browse Instagram and Pinterest” looking for products that fit their aesthetic. “If they like the product, they will come to the website and ask for it.” The difference, however, is that if a B2B customer sees a chair, “they will go to the website and ask for 50 pieces.”

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