Author
Afroja Akter
Founder, Roomellow / Austin, Texas / LinkedIn
Afroja Akter is the founder of Roomellow, an Austin-based AI furniture shopping and visualization platform that helps shoppers see real furniture products together in their own spaces before buying.
With a background in data science, pricing analytics and applied mathematics, Afroja brings an analytical perspective to furniture ecommerce and retail technology. She has worked as a data scientist developing pricing and discount models, evaluating business decisions through experimentation, and deploying pricing systems across large product catalogs.
She holds a Master of Science in Applied Mathematics from the University of New Mexico and pursued doctoral research in applied mathematics at the University of Houston.
At Roomellow, Afroja leads product strategy, retailer relationships and business development. Her work focuses on a challenge in furniture retail: shoppers make decisions about entire rooms, while traditional ecommerce often presents furniture one product at a time.
She writes about furniture ecommerce, retail analytics, product data, AI technology and the trends shaping the furniture industry.
Articles by Afroja Akter
AI and retail technology
AI Tools for Furniture Retailers: What They Actually Do, and Where They Fall Short
Eight kinds of AI tools furniture stores are being offered, from product descriptions to room visualization: what each does well, where each falls short, the policies and laws that apply, and ten questions to ask before you buy.
/ 10 min read
Catalog operations
Furniture Catalog Management: 10 Product Data Problems and How to Fix Them
Configurations that outgrow the product page, missing dimensions, made-to-order items shown in stock, room scenes as main photos: ten furniture product data problems that can hurt discovery, shopper confidence and sales, and how to fix each one.
/ 13 min read
Industry trends
Furniture and Home Furnishings Store Sales Rose 4.9% in September 2026: Is the Market Recovering?
Furniture and home furnishings store sales rose 4.9% in September 2026. What's behind the gain, what prices, factory orders and the January tariff step add, and what to do before Thanksgiving weekend.
/ 7 min read
Furniture ecommerce
How to Sell Furniture Online: A Practical Guide for Furniture Stores
How to sell furniture online in 2026: where to sell, product pages that answer every question, helping shoppers see it in their room, delivery, financing, follow-up and what to measure.
/ 6 min read
AI and retail technology
Furniture 3D Models: Do Retailers Still Need Them to Show Products in a Customer's Room?
3D models power AR and configurators, but every product needs its own model. Here's when furniture 3D models are worth it, where they fall short, and how retailers now show their real products in a shopper's room from the photos they already have.
/ 5 min read
Shopper behavior
Why Furniture Shoppers Abandon Their Carts (and How to Win Them Back)
Furniture carts are abandoned more often than most. The six reasons shoppers leave, from surprise delivery fees to fit worries, and what furniture stores can do about each.
/ 6 min read
Catalog operations
Furniture Product Photography: The Shot List That Sells Online
A practical furniture product photography guide for online stores: the 9 shots every piece needs, image specs for Google and Amazon, room scenes, costs, and using AI honestly.
/ 7 min read
Retail economics
Sell the Whole Room, Not Just the Sofa: How Furniture Stores Raise Average Order Value
Shoppers furnishing a room need several pieces but often buy one. Six ways furniture stores raise average order value with room merchandising, bundles and shop-the-look.
/ 5 min read
Retail economics
How to Reduce Furniture Returns: 8 Fixes for Online Furniture Stores
Why furniture gets returned, what each return really costs, and 8 practical fixes online furniture stores can make to their product pages, delivery and policies.
/ 6 min read
Visual merchandising
Visual Merchandising for Online Furniture Stores: 7 Ways to Help Shoppers See It at Home
Visual merchandising for online furniture stores: room scenes, scale cues, styled bundles, consistent photos, and letting shoppers see your products in their own room.
/ 8 min read
AI and retail technology
AI Room Design for Furniture Retailers: Turn Browsers Into Buyers
Most furniture shoppers leave because they can't picture the piece in their own room. Here's how AI room design fixes that on your storefront — and why the tool you pick determines whether the sale stays with you or goes to a dupe.
/ 7 min read
About Roomellow: Roomellow helps furniture retailers turn their product catalogs into AI-powered room-shopping experiences. Explore Roomellow for retailers