Do I need an online store if I have a showroom?

Not always. If most of your work comes from home visits and full rooms of curtains, a good website with photos of real jobs, the towns you cover and an easy way to book a visit may be enough. An online store starts to make sense when customers already ask for prices before they visit, when you sell products people can measure themselves, such as roller blinds or poles, or when you want orders from outside the area you can drive to. Used well, a store brings people into the showroom rather than replacing it.

When a showroom on its own is enough

Most jobs are made to measure curtains and whole rooms. Customers want to touch the fabric and have someone measure. A store adds little here.
You cover a small area and your diary is full. More enquiries from further away will not help if you cannot fit them.
Nobody asks for prices before a visit. If customers are happy to book first, keep it that way.

In these cases put the effort into the website you already have: clear photos of your own work, the towns you cover, and one button to book a home visit.

When an online store starts to pay

Customers ring to ask roughly how much. They are comparing, and a price for their own size answers them in the evening when the shop is shut.
You sell products people can measure themselves. Roller blinds, Venetian blinds, poles and tracks can sell online once the price changes with the width and drop.
You want work from outside your fitting area. A store can send made to measure blinds across the country without a van going out.
Your staff spend hours on small quotes. Let the customer price one roller blind themselves and keep your staff for the bigger jobs.

What a store needs to work for a showroom business

A price calculator on every made to measure product. The customer types the width and drop and sees the price. A "call for price" button sends most of them to the next website.
The same prices online and in the showroom. If the website is cheaper, customers will bring it in and ask you to match it.
A way to ask for help. Not every visitor wants to order online, so a form to ask a question, request a quote or book a home visit turns them into a showroom customer.
Orders that arrive with every measurement your workroom needs, so nobody has to ring the customer back.

A simple test before you decide

For two weeks, write down every call and email that asks for a price before a visit, and every enquiry from outside the area you fit. If there are only a handful, keep your effort on the showroom and home visits. If there are several a week, those are customers a store could serve without anyone picking up the phone.

What it costs with us

We build online stores for curtain and blind shops on Shopify. Every product is set up by us with a calculator on it, and the store is opened in your name and is yours to keep. Business Launch is £10,000, Omnichannel is £19,500 (£12,900 for stores booked by 30 November 2026) and Market Leader is £35,000, each a one time payment, 50% to start and 50% when the store goes live. With these three the calculator is yours for good with nothing to pay each month, online orders and showroom quotes sit in one system, and InterioApp quoting software for your showroom and home visits is free for 12 months. If you want to try selling online first, Store Launch starts from £2,500 on a ready-made theme, with the calculator at £79 a month.

Talk it through with us

If you are not sure a store is worth it for your showroom, book a 30-minute demo and bring your notes from the two week test.

First published on the InterioApp blog.