City Furniture harnesses technology to provide affordable interior design services

City Furniture wanted to differentiate itself by providing a new, first of its kind service to its customers-permitting them to easily and inexpensively engage an interior designer familiar with City Furniture's products. The company envisioned a kiosk and Internet based solution that would help drive furniture sales through these interior design services. However, City Furniture's IT infrastructure was not capable of supporting this innovative kiosk and Web-based application, and it lacked the staff to support the custom application development requirements of such a solution.

IBM Global Business Services helped City Furniture develop the Academy of Design (AOD) service. Customers use in-store kiosks and the AOD Website to learn about and register for the service. After specifying their preferences, they select a Designer to work with to create their interior design. At the Website customers can add more detailed preference information and view design plans as they are developed by the interior designers. IBM built a secure, scalable, and robust application architecture that permits the integration of the in-store kiosks, laptop-based designer consultation applications, and a Web-based application to interface with the design firm.

The Academy of Design pilot solution, which went live in December 2005, has been a huge success for City Furniture:

· Customers who purchase a design package spend about four times as much as customers who do not choose a design package

· Based on the pilot performance, City Furniture anticipates increasing its overall sales by 8-10%

“Our technology investment and work with IBM allows us to make great interior design affordable and accessible to our shoppers. This multi-channel retail solution is the first of its kind in the home furnishings industry."
Keith Koenig, President, City Furniture.