Best Home Furnishings (BHF) is one of the largest custom upholstery manufacturers in North America selling direct to furniture dealers and national retail chains. With strong market penetration, the next stage of growth would come from increasing the number of units sold through participating dealers and by reducing order errors as each product has multiple features and options.
THE CHALLENGE
BHF doesn’t have strong brand awareness, yet it competes against big custom brands like Flexsteel, Bassett, and La-Z-Boy. Although furniture dealers love the quality product and fast production times from Best, ordering is difficult and cumbersome. Sales associates have had to rely on retrieving bulky catalogs to help customers peruse the vast assortment of products, features and 900+ upholstery options.
THE APPROACH
Furniture customers needed a seamless experience that would allow them to imagine what they could create for their homes. We built a branded app in React Native that offers a simple, intuitive and friendly way to personalize BHF products. The app gathers every option available for each selected piece of furniture so customers can quickly choose between the unique features available for each piece. The application also includes an online web app that collects analytics from the app, giving each dealer a look into the types of products searched, customized, added to lists and so on. Dealers are now able to make informed decisions regarding the types of products to show on the retail floor and keep the sales rep with the customer rather than digging through catalogs at the desk.
THE RESULTS
The Best Home Furnishings app makes customizing easier while gathering data regarding all the products chosen throughout the platform. BHF is now able to use analytics to see how customers are engaging with products and how each dealer and salesperson uses the app and where product training is needed. The Best Home Furnishings app debuted with rave reviews at the Las Vegas World Market, the world’s most comprehensive home furnishings showcase.
