FurnitureFan's Russo Speaks at International Interiors Conference in London: The New Age of Shopping... From Mouse to House

Furniture World Magazine

Mitchell Russo, CEO of FurnitureFan, Inc., a web-based marketing services company for the furniture industry, was a featured speaker at the interiors industry's international "Interiors Online: From Mouse to House" Conference held in London. Russo's address, entitled "The Role of E-Commerce - From Bricks and Mortar to Clicks and Bricks," discussed the blending of the web with every facet of the furniture industry, from customer to retailer to manufacturer. He offered an indepth look at integrated marketing programs and spoke to why offline advertising is becoming less effective for smaller retailers while online marketing is accelerating. Mr. Russo also spoke to the recent success of customized e-mail programs designed to target consumers who are in the market to buy, versus the less effective method of traditional demographic and geographic targeting. "When it comes to furnishing your home in the 21st century," Russo explained, " all you have to do is click a button." And, as the driving force behind FurnitureFan.com, the largest search engine available to shoppers browsing online for furniture in their local areas, Russo knows what he's talking about. Currently the most visited site on the Internet for furniture shoppers, FurnitureFan.com gives shoppers access over 100 store catalogs, then directs them to those local stores that feature their item of interest. For furniture stores, the primary advantage is the ability to reach nearly one million shoppers per month directly. The two-day conference was sponsored by Access Conferences International, an independent commercial conference company based in London providing today's ever-changing business community with a forum that focuses largely on new media, technology, financial and regulatory themes across commercial and industrial sectors. According to Russo, "Our goal at FurnitureFan is to make furniture shopping easy, accessible and enjoyable. The opportunity to share this vision with my colleagues from around the world was truly a great honor."