Crate and Barrel Furniture Journey

The Furniture Journey reimagined the end-to-end furniture buying experience across digital and stores to improve customer confidence and increase sales.

Impact

+24%

Add to cart

+17%

Conversion rate

+25%

Revenue per visitor

The Problem

Furniture sales were slowing as competition increased
Customer awareness that Crate and Barrel sold furniture was low
The website treated all products the same, from a $9 wine glass to a $5,000 sofa
Customers struggled to evaluate comfort, quality, and fit online
Digital and store experiences were disconnected

The Solution

Redesigned Product Detail Page

Reorganized the page to support richer product content
Updated hero imagery to 16:9 so key furniture pieces appear larger
Added a sticky header to keep Add to Cart always accessible
Rewrote product copy in a more conversational tone

Old Product Detail Page

New Product Detail Page

New Art Direction

Created four new studio sets representing Crate and Barrel’s core style categories
Re-shot the entire furniture assortment in minimally styled rooms
Contextual settings helped customers better understand scale and style
Established a distinctive visual system that differentiated the brand from competitors

Old Product Hero Photo

New Product Hero Photo

New Content

Introduced “comfort videos” showing how sofas are used in real living environments
Video viewers converted at 1.7% vs 0.55% for products without videos
Added dimensions directly to product photography to clarify scale
Created a “Preparing for Delivery” video to help customers avoid delivery issues

Comfort Video

Product Dimensions

Omni Channel Approach

Live chat connected customers to store, customer service, or design support
"See it in Your Store" made it easier to see if furniture was on display in nearby stores
Added quick access to store locations and hours

Crate Browser

Built "Crate Brower" a tool that helped associates send recap emails after store visits
Emails linked customers back to the website while giving associates credit for the sale
Optimized for fast performance in stores with limited Wi-Fi

Crate Browser Home

Crate Browser Search Results

Outcome

Impact

Increased Add to Cart by 24%, conversion by 17%, and revenue per visitor by 25%
Established a new design framework later used to redesign housewares and gift registry experiences
Set a new industry benchmark for furniture product pages, with competitors adopting similar templates and content strategies
Elevated the role of design within the organization, earning executive recognition for its impact on business outcomes

Next Steps

Improve ways for customers to visualize furniture in their own homes, building on early experiments with contextual imagery and AR
Expand tools that connect store associates with customers’ online browsing
Continue evolving product storytelling to better communicate comfort, craftsmanship, and customization