Online furniture shopping: Search, click and relax

Where once we humble shoppers were limited to stores within our geographical area, the rise in online shopping means furniture is now only a few clicks away.

Though the thought of buying a statement armchair sight unseen might not suit everyone, retailers are finding more and more shoppers are after the convenience.

Fantastic Furniture recently launched its national online sales service.

"Online shopping assists those time poor shoppers who don't have the time to go out to the shops on the weekends," Fantastic Furniture digital marketing manager Harry Bolanakis said.

"You may have seen the products in-store at some point when you were browsing then you get home and decide you want to buy it."

Now here's the warning: Given furniture isn't cheap to ship, make sure you know your rights and responsibilities when it comes to returns and refunds.

Good retailers will have easy to find returns and refunds policies on their sites.

"You have to choose a company that has a telephone, live chat or some sort of contact available," Mr Bolanakis advises.

"Make sure you read up on the company and are confident in buying from them."

It's also smart to make sure the website is secure: look for a closed padlock icon or "https://" on your web browser before handing over your credit card details.

From a practical point of view, online shopping offers some advantages for those of us who may find it hard to visualise a lounge in fabric that suits our decor.

Fantastic Furniture's site allows you to select any of the 100 fabrics available on their Australian made range to see how the colours and patterns look.

So even if you're a stickler for tradition, online furniture shopping may be worth a test run. Happy sales hunting.

■ Details: fantasticfurniture.com.au.