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Home furnishing store

Crate & Barrel Singapore’s revamped omnichannel experience increased loyalty program sign-ups by 350%

Crate & Barrel Singapore

Previous Platform

Custom

Industry

Home furnishing

Use Case

Growth and scale, Multi-channel and omnichannel, Retail and POS

Partner

Overdose

Global home decor and furniture brand Crate & Barrel made its way to the sunny shores of Singapore in 2013, finding success immediately in the city that loves shopping. When the pandemic hit, the brand saw a monumental surge in online transactions - a wake-up call for the team. People were hungry for homeware, and Crate & Barrel Singapore wanted to be able to deliver on that desire. 

Crate & Barrel Singapore realized it had to revamp the way it operated both online and in store to deliver a great omnichannel customer experience that wouldn’t compromise on its commitment to delivering high-quality and timeless pieces to customers. With Shopify Plus, Crate & Barrel enjoyed

  • Increased loyalty sign-ups by 350% with the use of apps integrated with Shopify Plus
  • The seamless integration and connection of its ERP and POS systems
  • The scalability and flexibility of the platform to expand its stores in Southeast Asia

Challenge

When COVID-19 hit and people started to work from home, Crate & Barrel Singapore saw a huge demand for home furniture, resulting in an increase in traffic to its web store. 

The Crate & Barrel Singapore team needed a better platform to deal with this surge, its website was littered with rigid functionalities that prevented the company from providing its shoppers the same level of service it would in store.

This lack of flexibility meant that the company needed to revamp everything—from its loyalty platform to its design tools—in order to create a truly seamless experience, not only for its customers but also its store associates.

“When it comes to buying big-ticket items such as sofas or beds, people are a bit more hesitant to make that purchase online. They want to check it out for themselves, but if they can’t physically visit a store, we have now added virtual consultations. This allowed customers to talk to our associates or request for them to examine the products live—whether that’s sitting on the sofa or touching the fabric. It’s almost like having a personal shopper.”

  • Crate & Barrel Singapore
  • Stephen Wright — Brand Manager

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Solutions

Together with Overdose, a Shopify Plus Agency Partner, Crate & Barrel Singapore launched its new ecommerce site with Shopify Plus, a solution the retailer found was easy to use, scalable, and yet flexible enough to be tailored to its growing business needs.

Crate & Barrel Singapore also implemented a return and exchange policy that offered customers the freedom to change their minds about products. Inventory management was no longer a hassle after implementing Shopify POS, as sales associates could easily log in and access or modify the information as needed—in real time. There is also a seamless flow of data now since the company was able to integrate its existing ERP system and connect different applications across the business.

“COVID-19 proved to be a giant wake-up call for us. We decided to revamp everything, from our website to our loyalty platform to our design tools. We were determined to come out of this lockdown having reinvented ourselves in the hopes that we would be able to create an omnichannel experience for everybody.”

  • Crate & Barrel Singapore
  • Stephen Wright — Brand Manager

Results

While the pandemic brought challenges for Crate & Barrel Singapore, the brand was comforted by an uptick in loyalty program sign-ups since moving over to Shopify Plus. 

“The early signs are promising, and we have seen a 350% average increase in new sign-ups for our loyalty program,” Wright says. “This is a direct result of people engaging more with our loyalty platform, which is available both offline and online—a direct benefit of switching to Shopify Plus.”

With the analytics tools available in Shopify Plus, the team is now able to empower customers by closely examining their online journey and encouraging them to hit the checkout button.

After using Shopify Plus to success in Singapore, the brand is now focused on its next phase of growth, while also relaunching its sister brand CB2 in Singapore and Malaysia.

“We’re interested in Southeast Asia as a whole, so that includes Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Once COVID-related lockdowns ease, we’re confident our physical stores will be buzzing with people, and we want to be ready for that. With Shopify Plus, we can easily set up an ecommerce store ahead of the physical store and digitally deliver an exceptional customer experience.”

  • Crate & Barrel Singapore
  • Stephen Wright — Brand Manager
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