Stanley Furniture

Case Study

Stanley Furniture Site Redesign

Stanley Furniture approached JGSullivan to update their consumer-facing website. JGSullivan began with a site and data analysis for Stanley Furniture, then consulted with company management, dealers and consumers, and conducted a Competitive Site Analysis to plan the redesign of the StanleyFurniture.com website.

JGSullivan implemented a benchmark survey on the old website to set baseline measurements which we could compare with the results of a second implementation of the survey after the new site launched. Questions were asked to establish and compare consumer perception of the brand, satisfaction with the website, and likeliness to purchase the brand and recommend it to others. Real-time online reporting was used to track survey results.

Client Profile

• Industry: Home Furnishings
• Products: wood furniture (case goods) for the dining room, bedroom, living room, home office, home entertainment and youth furniture

Old Website Problems

• Stanley Furniture's then-current website was four years old with outdated graphics that were not on par with the "styled up" image of the brand. The navigation and layout of the product gallery made it difficult for consumers to make pre-buy purchase decisions.
• Benchmark surveys showed that 55% of site visitors probably would not purchase Stanley Furniture after visiting their website.
• Consumers who did make site visits then went to stores without the appropriate information to defend themselves against salespeople with their own agendas.

JGSullivan's Design Tactics

• Update the look to improve usability by restructuring the data and the interfaces to accommodate how consumers shop: by room and by item.
• Product pages were designed to be printable with enlarged product pictures, full specs and full Stanley Furniture branding so that consumers coming to the stores had all the information they needed to get exactly the piece of Stanley Furniture that they wanted.
• The entire site was redesigned with a new color scheme, text treatments and product imagery to reposition the brand against higher-end brands such Henredon and Thomasville, with the competitive advantage of a lower price point.

Results

• According to user surveys after the launch of the new site, JGSullivan significantly increased brand perception: the number of people who "Strongly Agree" that Stanley Furniture is "high quality" went up by 28%, while the number who "Strongly Agree" that Stanley Furniture is "stylish" rose by 18%.
• The consumer experience was greatly improved: 43% more consumers reported having a "Very Good Experience" on the website.
• Sales are being influenced by the website. Consumers reporting that they were "Likely" or "Very Likely" to buy Stanley Furniture increased to 63%.
• Site visitors feel better about the brand, as evidenced by the 19% increase in the number of people who say they are "Very Likely" to recommend the StanleyFurniture.com website.