Hooker Furniture Revamps Website

January 10, 2019  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry   

New features include a simplified ordering process for small to mid-sized dealers and interior designers, enhanced smart search functionality and marketing intelligence capabilities that make product recommendations based on user activity.

Launched in early December, the redesign also includes similarly enhanced sites for sister companies Bradington-Young and Sam Moore.

Dealers and designers can access the simplified B2B ordering process through each of the brands’ consumer-facing websites. Once logged in, they will see a personalized dashboard that contains information on pending orders, order history, and other pertinent information regarding the products they carry.

New orders can be placed by simply navigating the site and adding items to their cart via a simple e-commerce ordering platform, including custom upholstery orders for Bradington-Young, Sam Moore and MARQ – Hooker Furniture’s new line of upscale, customizable modern upholstery available exclusively to the interior design community.

As an added convenience, B2B users can toggle between each of the brand sites without having to login again and they can also utilize a real-time chat feature, connecting them directly to the company’s customer service department.

“Our new B2B ordering process allows our small to mid-sized retailers and interior design partners to easily interact with our brands in an environment that is consistent to what they are used to using every day when shopping online,” said Johne Albanese, vp of corporate marketing at Hooker Furniture. “Logging in as a B2B customer will no longer move users to an extranet, rather it keeps them on the main site which is just as clean and attractive as the B2C experience, making it much more user-friendly for our business partners. That being said, the Elink system will still be available for retailers who require a more robust list of functions or just prefer to continue using that interface.”

“The new sites also streamline the process for potential new clients to apply for an account with Hooker Furniture, Bradington-Young and Sam Moore,” Albanese added.

In addition to the new B2B ordering process, the redesign also includes enhanced product discovery and search capabilities which benefit consumers, dealers and interior design professionals alike.

Enhanced search capabilities include a smart search feature that allows users to search by various product specifications to return more granular results than ever before and an innovative image search function that looks at the physical attributes of a product and maps it to images in the site’s database.

New marketing intelligence capabilities include product recommendations based on the user’s search history. The more time users spend on each site, the more personalized their recommendations will become, making the experience more relevant to their style preferences.

The redesign was completed through a collaborative arrangement between MicroD, an online solutions provider for the home furnishings industry, and EMUN, a sales management software and technology provider in partnership with the company’s IT and marketing departments.

“Our overarching objective with the development of the new B2B e-commerce sites was to create world-class experiences for our clients where they can benefit from the latest B2B e-commerce technologies, while simplifying as many interactions as possible,” said Tod Phelps, chief information officer for Hooker Furniture. “By leveraging tools that are commonly understood by nearly anyone who shops online, we believe we can provide our customers with access to important information and ordering processes that will be familiar, while also saving them time.”