BOSTON - Online furniture sales have more than tripled on Blueport, a cloud e-commerce platform for home furnishings.

 

From April 1st through June 30th - when the COVID pandemic took hold - furniture retailers running websites on the Blueport platform increased online sales an average of 317 percent over the same period last year. Increased sales of 123 percent were also seen over last year's fourth quarter - typically the peak time for sales. 

 

“It feels like the retail industry — and big-ticket categories like furniture in particular — advanced omnichannel adoption five years in five weeks this spring,” said Carl Prindle, Blueport CEO and founder.

 

As of June 7, year-to-date sales already exceeded sales for the entire year of 2019. Across the platform, average order size increased 27 percent to $1,240 with sectional sofas, living room sets, sofas, and dining Sets - the top-selling items.

 

Blueport believes the virus is a main factor.

 

"Early in the pandemic, online transactions helped retailers weather store closings," the company wrote in a press release. "More recently, Blueport retailers continue to enjoy triple-digit online growth after stores reopened, perhaps reflecting continued concerns about physical shopping, or a change in the behavior of shoppers newly accustomed to buying virtually anything online."

 

Blueport says retailers who build a site on their platform "dramatically outperform the industry."