In recent times, online shopping has taken India by storm for a variety of products. This phenomenon has also spread to furniture, furnishings and interior decor. In the past, if customers wanted to buy a piece of furniture, it was a tedious journey physically visiting shop to shop, inspecting furniture, looking for the right item, negotiating prices and then finally getting your vaunted purchases home. More often than not, a lot of time and effort was wasted in the process, not to mention the amount of money spent on your choices. Remember - it is never easy to compare products on a shop to shop basis and arriving at a fair price.
Fortunately, with technology and innovation, that has now changed with the advent of online furniture shopping portals like Urban Ladder! Of course, Urban Ladder is not the first enterprise to venture into this space. However, though somewhat a late entrant, Urban Ladder has still made up for it through its USPs. Consider the following -
’+ The first impression that you get when you visit the Urban Ladder website( http://www.urbanladder.com) is a well designed, clean and pleasant look. The site is quite user friendly and the products are categorised neatly.
’+ Urban Ladder is a niche player and a specialist in the furniture segment.
’+ It does not flood you with umpteen choices - sometimes, that could suffocate us and make it quite difficult to zero in on a final selection - but at the same time, it does give you reasonable number of choices to feel comfortable on making satisfying decisions.
’+ The products are priced reasonably and transperantly with periodic discount offers through the year, especially December year-end sales. There are also debit / credit card discount offers and Amazon Pay discounts(10% off, maximum Rs.500) available to customers from time to time.
’+ The portal keeps its range reasonably broad based but tight which also fit your requirements. As of now, it does not offer "everything under the sun" for your home needs but suffice it to say that you would be happy with the range available and not disappointed.
’+ The fact that it keeps its range reasonably tight is a plus because it maintains higher quality control of curation of products. Its products are well curated - and when we say curated, we speak from personal experience - they really are’curated’!
’+ In case you are not satisfied with the product, there are easy returns available and refunds as well, subject to T & C.
’+ The listings on the website are quite detailed with explicit images from various aspects and include measurements of the products too. They cover product features, properties, material used, care & safety instructions, warranty, returns and quality promise. If you still have questions, all you need is to connect with them through any of your preferred modes of communication or simply post a question.
’+ The website is equipped with a Products Compare facility for customer selected products.
’+ Urban Ladder also offers consultancy services for Interior Designing of your home at reasonable prices.
’+ For those customers who need variety of payment options, Urban Ladder offers Cash on Delivery(COD), Card on Delivery, Amazon Pay, UPI, Net Banking, Debit Card and Credit Card Payments, to name a few. It has EMI facilities as well. And if you still need time or are planning for a future occasion, then you have the option to save it to your Wish List.
’+ The best part is that Urban Ladder not only services premier metros but also has presence in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. It has a clear vision to expand further and further in to such cities and towns. This is good for customers who often wish to buy from premier furniture portals but may not have delivery facilities to their location. Further, Urban Ladder focusses on not just delivery facilities but also brick and mortar offices in specified locations. And yes, its delivery facilities are free of cost. Customers are notified date of delivery and the products have tracking facility.
’+ For customers interested in gifting, the portal also offers Gift Cards. If the gift card ordered is=> Rs.10, 000/-, then customers also get Rs.2, 000/- extra vouchers. The gift cards have no expiry date and can be purchased for denominations starting as low as Rs.1, 000/- either in electronic or physical version. They can be customised for all kinds of occasions and events.
’+ Urban Ladder also has an attractive referral policy wherein existing customers can refer their friends, relatives and acquaintances with a designated voucher code with a limit of 10 referrals per account. When their referral uses the code, they get 10% off and the customer who referred them gets Rs.2, 000/- off on each referral. This has been quite useful for our requirements.
’+ The online venture has physical presence too in select locations through’Experience Stores’. These are brick and mortar stores that customers can personally visit and select their products while getting a feel on how they look and fit in homes.
’+ The best part is that their delivery staff are quite well trained and skilled. They are courteous and polite. They provide all information(including warranty, returns and refunds), you may need when they deliver and install the products in your homes.
’+ Their contact centre staff are equally competent and they have multiple modes of communication namely email, chat and telephones. The portal is setup with variety of social media accounts as well.
’+ While they do have policies and procedures that they need to adhere to, yet they are flexible in case you have any genuine query, requirement or problem. This is often missing in online portals. Moreover, the conversations are not scripted / templated and are usually engaging.
’+ Urban Ladder products are compact and can be easily assembled / dismantled as may be required. This is particularly useful for customers who are mobile and move locations periodically.
’+ Mobile friendly customers can download the Urban Ladder app available both on Google Play Store and Apple Store.
We have bought several products from Urban Ladder but have not had cause or reason to regret it anytime. Of course, occasionally, there were few disappointments or issues with products, as can happen in the best of times. These were handled promptly by the staff that ensured the grievances were resolved on the positive side.
If you are considering any purchase of furniture, suggest you take a good look at the site for your requirements. My referral code is YOUxME_Ashritha_9EP3A6. You may use it to get 10% off on any of your selection.
That said, let us know of your thoughts and please do leave comments on your experiences.