We are in the process of giving our work space an extreme makeover which let me tell you is not the easiest task. I now know why Interior Designers exist!

In SA, when you are looking to purchase something, you need to decide whether this is going to be something that is available on the net, or whether you are going to thumb it through the Yellow Pages. Most of the time the Yellow Pages wins hands down because most businesses don't even appear online. Optimistically, you decide to start off with Google, hoping that something has miraculously changed in the last 24hours.

I'm looking for office furniture. I type in "office furniture" on Google and do a "pages from South Africa" search, and wait for the results.  There are a few SA ads that come up (well done to those companies that are taking technology by the horns), it looks promising and at this point your heart rate starts increasing. Could this be it? Is there someone who has their entire offering online? Do they have what I am looking for? You frantically click through, the design is fresh, looks like this one could be up to date - and then you realise that you still have to phone through anyway because there is no pricing anywhere. A great example is CN Business Furniture, these guys could really up their game very easily and if we had seen something we liked, we may very well have purchased it online. I know, alot of stores don't want their competitors knowing their pricing, but is this still valid argument in this day and age? If a competitor wants to know what you are charging, they'll make a plan.

This whole process could be a lot easier if stores positioned themselves online more effectively. If they realised that there IS a growing market out there; people who would like to at least start the process online. At the end of the day, I think it comes down to understanding, priority and budget.

Bfg have taken their products online, I have ordered one of these couches already. I like the fact that someone can look around and get the full extent of their offering without having to first visit the store.

Also, fatSak have done an excellent job in presenting their gigantic "beanbags" online. Well done.

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