The Wall Street Journal
Many retailers are initiating flat fees and eliminating the item-by-item charges that often angered customers.

For consumers, furniture delivery is often a Kafkaesque nightmare of endless delivery-day vigils, exorbitant fees, missing trucks and months-long waits for that popular out-of-stock sofa — even damage to walls and floors once pieces finally arrive.

Consumer complaints against the industry have grown — to 14,553 in 2012, up from 13,817 the year before, according to the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

But now, many companies are taking steps to address those problems and make order and delivery faster and more efficient.

• In January, Pottery Barn shrank the window of delivery waiting time to two hours from four.

• Companies, including Crate and Barrel and Pier 1 Imports, have lowered delivery fees and launched online platforms to provide customers with immediate information on availability and shipping rates.

• By the end of this month, Ikea will complete a new, online ordering platform that will give users furniture availability and shipping charges immediately. (The old process had irritated a number of customers who thought they’d completed an order online but were then asked to place it again over the phone — only to face a nearly 30-minute wait on hold.)

• Some firms are training personnel to be courteous about little things, such as wearing cotton booties to prevent scratching floors.

The new flexibility and responsiveness of the industry is partly an attempt to reverse slowing sales.

Amid higher energy prices and Gulf Coast hurricanes that disrupted some supply chains, the $76 billion furniture industry grew by 4 percent in 2012, compared with a nearly 8 percent jump the prior year, according to Jerry Epperson, a furniture industry analyst.

Veteran furniture retailers are also facing heightened competition from big box stores like Wal-Mart and Kroger, which recently ramped up their home furnishing offerings, and other nontraditional furniture sources, like eBay. “Companies have recognized that making a perfect delivery is a competitive advantage,” said Dan Bolger, a logistics consultant to the furniture industry.

Retailers are also hoping that better delivery service will soften the blow of higher prices on some items. U.S. manufacturers are raising prices on furniture pieces because of high gasoline costs, which affect petroleum derivatives used in some upholstery adding. The industry is also facing tighter federal regulations on fireproofing, which furniture makers say could lead to price increases of $50 to $100 on sofas and chairs.