Omnichannel Retail Lessons for Home Furnishing Brands — What Fenwick and Selected Get Right

Stop losing sales between the showroom and the shopping cart

Home furnishing brands and lighting retailers tell us the same problems every month: a beautiful product that doesn’t translate to online confidence, showroom traffic that doesn’t convert to sales, and marketing dollars wasted on generic campaigns that don’t move local shoppers. The Fenwick–Selected tie-up announced in early 2026 is a useful case study: it shows how a department-store platform and a design-led brand can execute smart omnichannel activations that drive footfall, lift conversion, and create meaningful local relevance. This article extracts practical omnichannel retail lessons furniture and lighting retailers can implement now.

Why Fenwick & Selected matters for home furnishing brands in 2026

In January 2026 Retail Gazette reported Fenwick bolstering its partnership with Danish brand Selected by rolling out targeted omnichannel activations across stores and online. The move is part of a broader 2025–26 industry shift: retailers are reallocating investments from broad digital spend into integrated local experiences, unified commerce platforms, and staff-led selling. For home furnishing brands — where tactile experience, scale, and logistics all matter — the Fenwick/Selected approach provides an accessible blueprint.

"Omnichannel success in 2026 is no longer about being everywhere; it's about being locally relevant, digitally fluent, and experientially memorable."

Quick preview: the 5 omnichannel moves to copy

• Make your store a destination — curated vignettes, event programming, and product-testing zones for furniture and lighting.
• Unify online and offline tech — single inventory, universal cart, and real-time product visualization (AR/VR).
• Localize marketing — store-level assortments, geo-targeted ads, and community partnerships.
• Empower store staff — clienteling apps, appointment booking, and KPI-aligned incentives.
• Measure what matters — store-attributed online conversion, pickup-to-sale rates, and post-purchase NPS.

1. In-store activation: turn the showroom into a conversion engine

Fenwick and Selected treated the department store as a brand stage rather than a clearance warehouse. For furniture and lighting retailers, the equivalent is creating immersive, shoppable moments that answer the two biggest buyer anxieties: fit and feeling.

What to build

• Vignette rooms: Fully furnished scenes that show scale, layering, and lighting. Rotate monthly by style (e.g., Scandi, Modern Farmhouse, Urban Studio).
• Lighting demo bays: Controlled spaces with dimmers and tunable white to demonstrate mood differences. Include lamps, pendants, and smart bulbs.
• Try-before-you-buy areas: Sofas and mattresses with short-term trial options or in-store reservation for home trial.
• Event calendar: Designer drop-ins, styling workshops, and local maker pop-ups to create reason-to-visit.

Actionable checklist for rollout (0–90 days)

1. Pick one high-traffic store as the pilot and design 3 vignettes (max 200 sq ft each).
2. Create a monthly event calendar (1 paid masterclass + 2 community events).
3. Install QR codes on product tags linking to the exact product page with room dimensions and assembly video.
4. Train the team on a 15-minute demo script focused on scale, material, and warranty.

2. Online-offline integration: remove friction at every touchpoint

Fenwick’s activation underscores a simple truth: shoppers jump between channels. If online product pages, inventory status, and pickup options aren’t synchronized with the store experience, you lose conversions. Home furnishings and lighting have unique friction points — delivery windows, assembly, and in-home fit — so your omnichannel stack must be purpose-built.

Practical integration steps

• Real-time inventory: Use a unified commerce solution (headless commerce + single source of truth inventory) so product availability shows correctly online and in-store.
• BOPIS and curbside: Offer “Reserve & Collect” and express pickup slots. For bulky items, offer scheduled store pickup with assembly or white-glove delivery options added at checkout.
• Augmented reality tools: Short-term: embed AR visualizers on product pages so shoppers see sofas and tables in their rooms. Mid-term: create in-store AR stations to scan room photos and recommend scale, cushions, and lighting layers.
• Shoppable lookbooks: Convert curated vignettes into shoppable galleries with the ability to add all pieces to cart or create a saved “room list.”
• Universal cart & appointment sync: Allow customers to save items to a universal cart and book in-store or virtual appointments tied to that cart.

Tech priorities and budget sequence

1. Start with inventory unification and BOPIS (highest ROI).
2. Add clienteling apps and booking integrations.
3. Invest in AR and headless commerce after confirming uplift from steps 1–2.

3. Localized retail: relevance beats reach

Fenwick’s localized activation with Selected highlights a return to store-level curation. Home furnishing brands should think less about blanket campaigns and more about neighborhood needs: student flats, family homes, downsizers, or rental-friendly sets.

Localized merchandising playbook

• Trade-area assortments: Analyze postcode data to stock products that match local household profiles.
• Localized promos: Geo-target offers and events, e.g., "First-week lighting demo at Fenwick Bond Street" or "Weekend studio styling in Bristol store."
• Community partnerships: Collaborate with local interior designers, contractors, and real-estate agents for referral deals and co-hosted events.
• Local SEO & listings: Maintain accurate store pages with inventory highlights, event schedules, and booking links. Encourage local reviews.

Example campaign — "Light Your Neighbourhood" (4-week plan)

1. Week 1: Install a local lighting vignette and launch geo-targeted social ads within 10-mile radius.
2. Week 2: Host an in-store lighting workshop with a local interior stylist; offer 10% off fittings for attendees.
3. Week 3: Run store-level email to loyalty members and BOPIS shoppers with a limited-time bundle (lamp + smart bulb).
4. Week 4: Measure uplift in store visits, reservation rates, and sales by SKU; refine assortment.

4. Empower store staff and align incentives

In Fenwick’s model, store associates don’t just restock; they are brand ambassadors who translate product value. For furniture and lighting, the sales associate’s role expands to consultant: measuring, styling, and problem solving.

Tools and training

• Clienteling tools: Give staff access to customer history, wish lists, and product availability on tablets.
• Appointment systems: Allow staff to manage bookable demos and design consultations.
• Measurement training: Teach associates to collect digital opt-ins and follow up with personalized proposals.
• Balanced incentives: Reward conversion rate and average order value (AOV), not just units sold; include non-transactional KPIs like appointments completed.

5. Measure and iterate: KPIs that matter

Omnichannel success is measured by attributed outcomes across channels. The Fenwick/Selected partnership is valuable because it demonstrates a test-and-learn approach — roll out, measure, refine.

Primary KPIs

• Store-attributed online conversion: percent of online sessions that convert after interacting with store content or events.
• BOPIS-to-sale rate: percent of BOPIS orders that increase AOV in-store or convert to additional purchases within 30 days.
• Event-to-purchase conversion: sales per event attendee.
• Average order value (AOV) by channel: track uplift when customers use universal cart or appointment-led purchases.
• Net Promoter Score (NPS) and post-purchase returns: ensure experiential gains are not offset by high return rates.

Attribution tactics

• Use promo codes and event RSVPs to tie purchases to activations.
• Leverage POS integrations to flag customers who engaged with AR tools or attended events.
• Run A/B tests at store-level: one store with event programming vs. another with standard displays to measure impact.

Pitfalls to avoid

• Over-investing in tech before process: AR and headless commerce are powerful, but without unified inventory and trained staff they underperform.
• Ignoring local data: National campaigns that don’t reflect local buying patterns waste spend.
• Underestimating logistics: Poor delivery and assembly execution erodes trust faster than pricing issues.
• Too many SKUs in the store: Cluttered assortments reduce clarity; curate to tell a story.

Pilot roadmap: a 6-month omnichannel plan for mid-size home furnishing brands

1. Month 0–1: Choose 1–2 pilot stores, unify inventory, and set baseline KPIs.
2. Month 2–3: Launch vignettes, lighting demos, and QR-enabled product tags; implement BOPIS.
3. Month 4: Add appointment booking and clienteling tools; start local ads and community events.
4. Month 5–6: Introduce AR visualizer, measure results, and scale high-performing elements to additional stores.

Budget guide (percentage of omnichannel spend)

• 40% store experience (fixtures, vignettes, events)
• 30% systems and integrations (inventory, POS + clienteling)
• 20% marketing (localized ads, email, event promotion)
• 10% experimentation (AR pilots, measurement tools)

Future-looking trends (late 2025–2026 and beyond)

Expect these trends to shape omnichannel retail for home furnishings:

• Micro-fulfillment and local delivery hubs: Faster delivery windows for big items as retailers open micro-warehouses near urban centers.
• Generative AI for product discovery: AI will create tailored room recommendations and shopping lists that link directly to store inventory.
• Resale and circular services: Buyback, refurbish, and resale options integrated at point-of-purchase to increase lifetime value and sustainability credentials.
• Headless commerce and composable stacks: Brands will decouple front-end experiences from backend systems to speed up tests and local campaigns.

Case in point: what Fenwick/Selected did right — and what to translate

From the Retail Gazette coverage, Fenwick and Selected strengthened their tie-up through omnichannel activations focused on experiences and local relevance. The lessons for home furnishing brands are clear:

• Use partnerships to scale experiential retail: department stores or local home stores can provide footfall, while brands provide curated content and events.
• Keep the experience consistent online and offline: customers who see a look in-store should find the same look shoppable online with clear pickup/delivery options.
• Measure at store level: attribution across channels ensures marketing dollars are traceable to store performance and long-term customer value.

Final actionable takeaways

• Start small, measure fast: pilot one store and one core tech integration (inventory or BOPIS) before adding AR or expensive fixtures.
• Localize everything: assortments, events, and messaging should reflect the needs of the trade area.
• Invest in people: clienteling and consultancy convert high-ticket home furnishing purchases more reliably than any ad channel.
• Make delivery and assembly a competitive advantage: offer clear windows, scheduled setups, and optional white-glove services.
• Use data to refine product mix: track event-to-sale and BOPIS behavior to adjust local inventory and pricing.

Ready to put these omnichannel lessons into practice?

If you’re a furniture or lighting retailer, start with a 60-minute omnichannel audit: we’ll map your current customer journeys, identify the fastest tech wins, and draft a 90-day pilot plan tailored to your stores. Fenwick and Selected show the potential when experience, local relevance, and unified commerce align — your brand can replicate those gains with a structured pilot and disciplined measurement.

Act now: pick one store, create a single vignette, and launch a BOPIS option this month. Small experiments unlock the data you need to scale confidently.

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