While holding a presence on social media is now important for brand engagement, borrowing and adapting systems with the bonus of extra features for specialist audiences are also becoming key. Several forward-thinking interiors brands are either mimicking the languages of popular, visually driven online social networking sites such as Instagram or Pinterest to create their own, in-brand communities.

A new wave of interior design services that digitally connect consumers directly to interiors experts or designers present major future opportunities for retailers ready to examine modes of trading up. These tactics acknowledge the booming overall consumer appetite for greater insider access, translating as 'meeting the maker' for the interiors sector. See also Exploiting Insider Access for more.

Digital expressions of try-before-you-buy, channelled via advanced tech tools such as augmented reality (AR) apps, are boosting buyer confidence via a seductive, yet practical two-step process: the virtual observation of how products will look in a designated space, followed by the capacity to modify them as appropriate.

Digital customisation tools (via e-communications sites or apps) are playing to consumers' rising expectation for personalisation – fulfilling both their creative pretensions and the need to modify products to suit increasingly cramped urban living spaces. According to a 2014 study by Swedish homeware brand Ikea, 30% of city-dwelling consumers across the globe (including the US, China and Japan) now reside in a space smaller than 30 sq m.