A seat height that was a back height
A customer buys a dining chair online because the seat height shown matches her table. When it arrives, the seat is much higher than she expected. The number on the website was the back height, copied from the maker's spec sheet into the wrong field. Another product lists its width in inches while everything else is in centimetres. Another has no depth at all.
Each mistake comes from a person copying numbers from a PDF into a website form, one product at a time.
Why dimensions go wrong
- Makers' spec sheets come in different formats and units.
- Dimensions are copied by hand into the website.
- Fields for seat height, arm height and depth are used inconsistently.
- Size variants, such as two-seater and three-seater, have their own dimensions that get mixed up.
- Nobody checks whether numbers make sense.
What wrong dimensions cost
| Problem | Cost |
|---|---|
| Wrong dimensions | Returns of bulky items and upset customers |
| Missing dimensions | Customers ring to ask, or buy elsewhere |
| Inconsistent units | Confusion and mistakes |
| Wrong size variant | Customers order the wrong size |
How we fix product dimensions
- A structured set of dimension fields is set up for each product type: sofas need seat height, seat depth, arm height and overall sizes; tables need height and top size; beds need mattress size and overall size.
- Makers' spec sheets are read, whether PDFs or spreadsheets, and the dimensions extracted into the right fields, converted to one unit. Anything the system is not sure about goes to a person.
- Checks run on every product: seat height lower than back height, overall width larger than seat width, values within normal ranges for the product type.
- Each size variant gets its own dimensions, linked to the right option on the product page.
- The website shows dimensions consistently, with a simple diagram showing what each measurement means.
- A report lists products with missing or doubtful dimensions, and products whose maker's spec has changed.
A product page afterwards
The dining chair's page shows seat height, back height and overall size in centimetres, with a diagram. The customer can see the seat height clearly and compare it with her table. When she switches between the chair and the carver, the dimensions change with the option. The report shows two new products from last week's range missing depth, and the buying team adds them from the maker's sheet.
Customer service has the same numbers on its screen, so when someone rings to ask whether the bed frame leaves enough room for storage boxes underneath, the answer is there, with the diagram to explain it, rather than a promise to find out and call back.
Dimensions feed other checks
Once dimensions are structured, other things become possible. The access check at checkout can compare the product's size with the customer's doorways. Delivery booking can estimate van space. Marketplace listings can be filled in with the right fields. Room planners on the website can use real sizes. All of this depends on accurate data, which is why fixing dimensions is often the first step for a furniture retailer's website.
Customer questions show where the gaps are. If the showroom and customer service keep getting asked for the seat depth of a particular range, or the height under a bed frame for storage boxes, those questions are logged and the missing field is added to that product type. Over time, the page answers the questions customers actually ask, and the phone rings less.
Packaged dimensions matter too. A sofa in its box, or a flat-pack wardrobe, has different measurements from the assembled piece. The fields hold both, so the crew and the access check can use the packed size, while the product page shows the assembled size customers care about.
Signs your dimensions need work
- Customers return items because the dimensions were wrong.
- Some products have no dimensions online.
- Units vary between products.
- Size variants show the same dimensions.
- Dimensions are copied from spec sheets by hand.