Has lockdown changed the antiques, art and vintage industry forever?

With the ongoing disruption caused by COVID-19 and lockdown, Stacey Tiveron CEO of Ronati, the e-commerce marketplace management tool, brings her unique 20-year marketplace perspective to the question of whether the antiques, art and vintage industry has been changed forever

Stacey Tiveron of RonatiIn 2019, close to two billion people purchased items online — but most of the sellers of art, vintage, and antiques lost out. Why? Because the vast majority of the art and antiques industry are not online. Worse, as a result of recent events, their stock is now locked in warehouses, galleries and closed shops.

This industry, like many others, was dumbstruck in the first weeks of the global lockdown, worried about their near- and long-term future. Leading auction houses and fairs quickly moved to replace live events with virtual ones, auctions, and showcases. The results were great—proving that people are not only interested in looking but also purchasing online. One recent example was Sotheby’s game-changing $300 million-plus online auction launched on June 29. Another is Artsy’s significant increases in both gallery adoption and in-platform transactions.

If there IS a silver lining to the temporary closing of art and antiques fairs and markets this year, it is that the industry has quickly come to realise that the online sales channel not only works, but must be employed as one of the methods to connect with potential buyers.

Dealers are now grappling with the question of how to get the attention of the right buyers online. One could argue they should immediately invest thousands to create a sophisticated website and hire an online marketing firm to get the process in motion. There is nothing wrong with that approach, except it takes weeks, months, or longer to see results where it matters—on the bottom line.

The fastest way for any dealer to connect with buyers interested in purchasing their unique items is to make them visible where the buyers are already shopping: online marketplaces. More than twenty of these destinations already exist for art, antiques and vintage items.

Marketplaces focused on art, vintage and antique items have built-in communities of consumers, interior designers and retail purchasers. Dealers can list their pieces on those that most speak to their period, style, and price point. Just a few of these include 1stdibs, Decorative Collective, eBay, Artsy, InCollect, LoveAntiques, Chairish, and Sotheby’s Home.

The more appropriate marketplaces a dealer lists on, the more exposure they have to potential buyers. Studies show that sellers who list on multiple marketplaces see exponentially higher sales. Marketplaces are not the only online destinations to reach these buyers, however. Now, we’re seeing more traditional auction houses adding “buy it now” sections, essentially creating their own marketplaces with more traditional online auctions running in tandem.

Traditionally resistant to change, the industry is finally starting to modernise, and there is no turning back.

There is no longer a worry that buyers do not have the confidence to purchase high-value pieces online. For dealers, this is excellent news. It is time to take the leap.

One thought on “Has lockdown changed the antiques, art and vintage industry forever?

  • July 31, 2020 at 7:34 pm
    Permalink

    Since the lockdown I’ve bought antiques on line from England, Australia and the USA. I was surprised to see some US dealers offering horse brasses as “bottle openers” but I bought from them anyway! I’ve bought Doulton stoneware, a Victorian purple glass rolling pin (that my wife uses to make lovely scones), pewter quart pots, a complete set of pub measures from quart to 1/3 gill, martingales, and more. I’d love to be inspecting antiques in shops, but a real collector does his best to satisfy the craving to collect. So no matter what the future holds, there will be someone, somewhere who wants to buy what is on offer. Go on line dealers–it is currently where the action is.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I accept the Privacy Policy

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.