Despite all the advances in electronic commerce, many furniture sales remain an old-fashioned affair, completed in person.
Because sofas and lounge chairs tend to be expensive, unwieldy and difficult to return, it has always been reassuring to flop down in a potential purchase for a comfort check — and to ask a sales associate for advice — before unsheathing the credit card.
The arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, however, changed everything. Within days of closing their stores, many furniture companies took a big digital step by putting robust virtual interior design services front and center.