Physical Showrooms in 2025: Why Some Products Still Need Touch-and-Feel Retail

The Conversion Gap Nobody Talks About

Physical stores achieve conversion rates of 20-40%, but online retail manages just 3%. It’s a number that should make every e-commerce founder pause. That's a fundamental gap in how consumers make purchasing decisions for certain product types.

The global flooring market, valued at $360.7 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $534.6 billion by 2030, provides a compelling case study. This is a sector where digital marketing thrives, but the final transaction overwhelmingly happens in person or after physical interaction with samples.

"You can show someone a thousand carpet images online, but none of that matters when they need to feel the texture under their feet or see how it catches the light in their actual space," says Ben Herbert, Director at Designer Carpet, a luxury carpet supplier based in Ilkeston that has an appointment-only showroom and online store. "We've found that customers who visit our showroom convert at dramatically higher rates because they can touch, compare, and truly understand the product quality."

The Numbers Behind the Touch-and-Feel Preference

Recent consumer research reveals just how persistent the desire for tactile retail remains:

• 76% of consumers prefer to purchase furniture and home furnishings in-store rather than online
• 62% of shoppers cite "seeing, touching, feeling and trying out items" as their primary reason for choosing physical retail over e-commerce
• 55% of consumers first discover home furnishing items at physical stores, not online
• 70% of furniture shoppers conducted online research before making a purchase in 2024, but half still prefer the final transaction in-store

This hybrid behaviour — research online, purchase offline — challenges the assumption that digital-first always means digital-only. The data suggests consumers use online channels for discovery and comparison, then seek physical validation before committing to higher-ticket items.

What Makes a Product Tactile?

Not all products require physical interaction. Software, digital media, and standardised electronics can thrive purely online. But products with these characteristics tend to demand tactile retail:

High-ticket, long-term investments: Furniture, flooring, and home furnishings represent significant financial commitments. The $244 billion US furniture market demonstrates that consumers want assurance before making purchases they'll live with for years.

Variable sensory attributes: Products where texture, weight, finish, and material quality vary significantly between options. A carpet sample photo cannot convey the softness of wool versus the durability of nylon, or how a texture feels underfoot.

Space and fit considerations: Items that need to work within an existing environment. Home furnishings must complement existing decor, fit physically within spaces, and match lighting conditions, all of which are challenging to assess digitally despite AR advances.

Quality signaling through touch: Premium products where physical interaction communicates value. Research from Spark Emotions found that enabling customers to touch products increases both perceived value and willingness to pay through the psychological "endowment effect."

The Gen Z Paradox

Perhaps most surprising is that younger, digital-native consumers are leading the return to tactile retail. The Harris Poll's "Return of Touch" study found that 84% of Gen Z and Millennials value brands that seamlessly blend technology and physical experiences, with 78% appreciating brands that add digital touchpoints to enhance, but not replace, physical shopping.

"We're seeing younger customers who grew up shopping on Amazon come into our showroom specifically because they've been burned by online purchases that didn't meet expectations," Herbert says. "They're actually more savvy about using our website to narrow down options, then visiting in person to make the final decision. It's smarter shopping, not traditional shopping."

This generational shift contradicts assumptions that younger consumers naturally prefer pure e-commerce. Instead, they're seeking what researchers call "omnichannel" experiences, i.e. using digital tools for convenience and physical retail for confirmation.

The Economics of Physical Retail Done Right

The knee-jerk assumption is that physical retail means high overhead and slim margins. But specialised showrooms challenge this model:

Appointment-based models: Many flooring and furniture showrooms now operate by appointment, reducing staffing costs and improving the quality of customer interactions. Conversion rates increase when customers receive dedicated attention rather than competing for assistance during busy periods.

The halo effect: Data from ICSC's Halo Effect study shows that online sales increase by 6.9% after opening a physical location in the same trade area. For DTC brands and emerging retailers, a showroom doesn't just capture in-person sales—it validates the brand and boosts digital conversion.

Inventory efficiency: Showrooms displaying samples rather than holding massive inventory reduce carrying costs. Designer Carpet maintains over 1,500 remnants and can source specific requirements through industry relationships, combining breadth with capital efficiency.

Expert-led differentiation: Physical locations enable consultation-based selling where staff expertise becomes a competitive advantage. In commoditised categories, this human element justifies premium pricing and builds customer loyalty that algorithms cannot replicate.

Implications for Startups

For tech entrepreneurs building in sectors adjacent to tactile products, these patterns matter:

Don't assume digital solves everything: Some product categories have inherent characteristics that resist pure e-commerce. Understanding when physical touchpoints add value can prevent expensive pivots later.

Hybrid models can outperform pure-play: The brands winning in home furnishings, eyewear, and fashion combine digital discovery with physical confirmation. They commit to digital, recognizing that different channels serve different purposes in the customer journey.

Physical assets can be lean: Modern showrooms bear little resemblance to traditional retail. Appointment-based operations, sample-focused displays, and consultation models create differentiation without crushing overhead.

Data from physical enriches digital: In-person interactions generate customer insights that pure e-commerce cannot capture. What products do customers compare? What questions do they ask? How do they make decisions? This intelligence flows back into digital marketing and product development.

As Herbert puts it: "The future isn't physical or digital. It's understanding which parts of the customer journey work best in each channel, then building your business model around that reality instead of chasing whatever's trendy in startup funding circles."