Rooms To Go

Review by eFreeware

Rooms To Go is the app from Roomstogo.Com, Inc., the furniture retailer behind the Rooms To Go stores. It is a free shopping companion rather than a standalone storefront in your pocket, and the main reason to consider it is the way it ties browsing at home to what happens in a showroom and afterward. If you are furnishing a room and want the catalog, the current promotions and your order details in one place, this is what the app sets out to provide.

The app has been on Google Play since October 2014 and currently sits at a 4.8 average from 6,071 ratings, with more than a million installs. That is a long run for a retailer app, and the recent updates are bug fixes and performance work rather than a rebuild. I read that as a tool that has settled into its role: helping you shop the Rooms To Go range and keep track of what you have already bought.

Browsing the catalog and saving what you like

The core of the app is browsing. You can move through living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, kids furniture and other parts of the range, and the developer describes the layout as improved over earlier versions. For anyone planning a purchase across several rooms, that structure matters more than it sounds: it keeps sofas, tables and bedroom sets grouped the way people actually shop for them.

Favorites are the feature I would lean on most. You can save items for later, which turns the app into a shortlist you can return to instead of a catalog you have to search through twice. The developer's pitch is that decorating becomes easier with the app in hand, and a saved list is the most concrete way that promise shows up.

Because the app is free, there is nothing between you and the catalog. What you see is the retailer's own inventory and presentation, which is exactly what you would expect from a company selling its own furniture rather than a marketplace of third-party sellers.

Coupons, sweepstakes and staying ahead of promotions

Promotions get their own space in the app. Coupon offers are updated there, and the developer says you will be among the first to know when a promotion comes around. Furniture pricing moves with sales cycles, so having the current offers in the same place as the products is a sensible arrangement.

The app runs a sweepstakes whose prize is a Rooms To Go gift card. It is a small extra rather than the reason to install the app, but it fits the broader idea that the app is where the retailer's deals and announcements live.

I would treat this section as the app's notification layer for savings. If you are waiting for a particular room to go on promotion, checking the app is more direct than watching the website or waiting for an email.

Finding a showroom and trying furniture in person

The store locator is one of the more useful parts of the app for anyone who has not bought furniture sight unseen before. It finds the closest showroom to you and provides phone numbers and opening hours, so you can plan a visit without a separate search.

The developer is direct about why this matters: furniture shopping can be overwhelming, and in-person help from a trained sales associate makes it easier. Trying a sofa or a mattress in a showroom before committing is a reasonable expectation for this category, and the app supports that trip rather than trying to replace it.

What appeals to me here is the pairing of the two halves. You can browse and shortlist in the app, then walk into a showroom already knowing which pieces you want to see, which is a better use of a Saturday than starting from scratch in a large showroom.

In-store carts and order tracking

Two features stand out for people who have moved past browsing. In a store, an associate can save the styles you liked as a cart for later. You can then complete that purchase from home, from work or from anywhere else, which removes the pressure of deciding on the spot.

Second, the app follows your existing orders so nothing slips past you. Delivery times and dates can be set or moved in the app instead of by phone. For anyone coordinating a delivery around work, a move or a building with restricted access hours, that is the kind of self-service that saves a phone queue.

The recent update is limited to bug fixes and performance enhancements, so there is no new headline feature to weigh. It does suggest the developer is keeping the app current rather than letting it drift.

What the app asks of you

The trade-offs here come from what the app is built around. It is a companion to a specific retailer, so its value depends on shopping with Rooms To Go rather than comparing across brands. The catalog, the coupons, the showrooms and the order tools all point at one company's range.

The in-store cart feature also assumes a particular sequence: you visit a showroom, work with an associate and have that cart saved before completing the purchase in the app. If you never set foot in a store, that part of the app has less to offer you, even though browsing, favorites and order tracking still work on their own.

The store locator similarly assumes there is a showroom within reach, since trying furniture in person is part of the developer's recommended path. And the sweepstakes is a chance to win a gift card, not a discount you can count on, so it should not factor into a purchase decision.

Who the app fits

This app suits people who are furnishing a home or replacing a few pieces and want to do part of the work before entering a showroom. If you like to shortlist sofas, dining sets or kids furniture on your own time, save the ones worth a second look and then go see them in person with the address and hours already in hand, the app is built for that routine.

It also suits existing customers. Once an order is placed, tracking it and adjusting the delivery window from the app is a straightforward convenience, and it is the kind of thing that keeps a retailer app installed after the purchase is done.

The free price makes it easy to try without committing to anything. With a 4.8 average across 6,071 ratings, the app has clearly found an audience among Rooms To Go shoppers.

A useful companion for Rooms To Go shoppers

I would install this if Rooms To Go is where you plan to buy furniture, or if you already have an order with the company. The combination of browsing, favorites, coupons, showroom details, saved in-store carts and delivery management covers the whole arc of a furniture purchase.

The app is not a neutral shopping tool across every furniture brand, and the in-store cart route assumes a showroom visit. That is a fair description of what it is: the retailer's own app, built around its own stores and catalog. For the shopper it is designed for, that focus is the point rather than a shortcoming.

What's new in version 9.8.1

Bug fixes and performance enhancements.