As featured on Philippine Daily Inquirer last July 21, 2021
New e-commerce site targets 'digital-savvy emerging affluents' who are time-starved
Before the pandemic, most Filipinos preferred to head to the stores where they could see what was available and compare prices. Online shopping was already an option but had yet to gain traction, especially among those wary of entering their credit card or bank details on their phone or laptop.
Now, more people are shopping online for everything from shower essentials to furniture and gardening supplies.
“Filipinos are more ‘touch and feel’ customers but the pandemic and its many restrictions changed that,” said Enah Baba, business development head and one of three cofounders of Itooh E-furniture and Design Inc.
Last year, she moved out of her one-bedroom unit and into a three-bedroom house. “I had a hard time filling it up because aside from the pandemic, some furniture brands offered few payment options.”
Her cofounder and COO Andrew Bercasio was also having difficulty sourcing furniture pieces at the height of the lockdown. Cofounder and CEO Jules Veloso had a totally different story when she contacted them from Los Angeles, California, to tell of her wrinkle-free experience decorating her apartment. Veloso had narrowly escaped the first global lockdown in March 2020 and had flown to the United States to take up further studies.
Seamless Online Furniture Shopping
She arrived to a bare studio apartment and wasted no time shopping online to make what would be her home for the next nine months more livable.
“I discovered the joy of decorating a space, shopping for furniture pieces, home decor, accessories and kitchenware. When I was not attending online classes, I would mull over my next home purchase on Etsy, Wayfair, Amazon, Pottery Barn or Williams Sonoma,” Veloso said.
She was not alone in this. Worldwide, people attempted to make their living situations more comfortable after it became painfully clear that they would be spending most of their time at home.
Seamless
The three have decided to put up Itooh, an online furniture e-commerce site that would house a wide range of furniture and accent pieces to help curate a home to love. Their aim? To make shopping for furniture online as seamless and frictionless as possible. They guarantee delivery in Metro Manila in five to seven days.
“We have a lot of good local suppliers,” Baba said. “According to the Global Modern Furniture Market Report (2021), it’s projected that by 2027, the furniture segment in the region will be an $8-billion industry. That’s why we want people to consider buying furniture online. What we offer is another platform.”
Their site (shopitooh.com) is divided into categories–living, dining and kitchen, bed and bath, home office, nursery and kids, outdoors, and accents and accessories. Clicking on any of the categories will lead to a list of relevant pieces from their current roster, including Artelano 11, Prizmic & Brill, Jed Yabut Furniture & Design, Thomas & George, Fashion Interiors and Travelfund by SiriusDan.
“Many of these brands are exporters and might already have online components but we want to help them expand their online presence,” Bercasio said.
Two other categories, art and interior design, have yet to be finalized. The first will feature pieces made by local artists while the second offers users the option of tapping interior designers from partner design firm Gruppo Santamaria to help design their space.
Comparison shopping
The cofounders have identified their target market as “digital-savvy emerging affluents” who are time-starved and always on the go. “They do comparison shopping and regularly conduct cashless transactions,” Baba said.
One problem often mentioned about online shopping is that the pictures attached to a product do not do justice or put the item in too much of a flattering light. On the Itooh site, all the product shots were taken by the team from different angles to ensure a consistent look. They traveled to the merchants’ showrooms located in as far as Pampanga and Nueva Ecija. For scale, they even “place” the items beside a human figure measuring 5’6”, the height of the average Filipino.
“It’s high time we give furniture shopping the tech treatment it deserves, especially for a country where 70 percent of internet users are online shoppers,” Bercasio said. “Eventually, we will introduce AR (augmented reality) on the site so customers will have an easier time picturing how the pieces of furniture will look.” INQ
