Möbel Bernskötter
For decades, Bernskötter has stood for quality and service in the furniture trade. The family-owned company operates two locations with a total sales area of 34,000 m² and around 150 employees. With the new Shopware 6 online shop, the stationary assortment has been successfully extended into the digital space – customers can now conveniently discover, configure and purchase furniture online.
Targeted communication for planned furniture purchases and digital consulting for home and interior design
Use of XcalibuR for product information management and implementation of an online shop with Shopware
Significant increase in conversion rate and successful shop implementation with a steadily growing number of online purchases
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN FURNITURE RETAIL
Buying behavior has changed significantly in recent years due to digitalization. This also affects products that were traditionally purchased in-store – such as high-quality, highly configurable furniture. To remain visible in the decision-making process for these planned purchases, brick-and-mortar sales alone are no longer sufficient. An attractive online offering is now crucial to reach the target group at an early stage.
Möbel Bernskötter actively embraced this challenge. The goal was to transfer the strengths of in-store consultation into the online experience. By introducing XcalibuR, product expertise was digitized and integrated into the e-commerce processes. This created a seamless transition between sales channels, giving customers a consistent and convenient customer journey.
Development of a high-performance e-commerce platform with Shopware 6
Introduction of an efficient PIM system
XcalibuR configuration for highly configurable furniture
Modernization of brand communication in the digital environment
Integration of all e-commerce processes into the company workflow
INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR FURNITURE RETAIL
As a development partner of Diomex, burgdigital has been leveraging XcalibuR technologies since 2015 to digitize and manage complex product ranges in the furniture trade.
In combination with Shopware 6, this resulted in a future-proof online shop that clearly presents highly configurable furniture, integrates advisory elements, and offers customers a seamless bridge between in‑store consultation and digital purchasing.
Möbel Bernskötter was already using WinMAX by Clasen-Datensysteme, a modern ERP system designed for data exchange with an online shop. It quickly became clear, however, that efficient product information management (PIM) required the additional implementation of XcalibuR and its seamless integration into the existing ERP. This implementation was carried out in close collaboration with Diomex and Clasen.
Building on this foundation, burgdigital further refined and implemented the technical concept. Master and media data for all products are now transferred directly from XcalibuR into the online shop and automatically mapped based on a classification by product groups and attributes.
A live query to WinMAX retrieves current prices, availability and stock locations in real time. This ensures that consistent information is available at all sales points. This not only allows offers and promotions to be managed efficiently, but also enables services such as Click & Collect to be seamlessly integrated into the online shop.
To present and select highly customizable furniture, the XcalibuR configurator was integrated directly into the online shop. This makes it easy to map all configuration options of a model and combine them individually.
Customers can configure their ideal furniture themselves by selecting materials, colours and features. If they need support, a live consultation with the sales team is available at any time – the perfect combination of digital freedom and personal service.
The technical foundation of the project is the Shopware 6 platform. Using a specially developed data gateway from burgdigital, all systems – from product data and pricing through to availability and orders – are seamlessly connected. Online and offline orders are automatically reconciled, creating a consistent, central data basis.
In addition, burgdigital developed bespoke plugins to meet specific customer requirements – for example, calculating shipping costs including freight forwarding logistics or dynamically taking delivery addresses into account during checkout.
Möbel Bernskötter deliberately positions itself as a traditional furniture retailer and provider of high-quality interior solutions. The goal of the e-commerce strategy was to reach regional customers digitally and make targeted use of the ROPO effect (“Research Online – Purchase Offline”). Customers research online, configure furniture according to their preferences and, if required, can make direct use of personal in-store consultation at the furniture store.
burgdigital implemented this goal with a well-thought-out UX and design concept. The customer journey sparks interest not only through product and price, but through the entire brand experience. Campaigns, services and a consistent brand presence ensure that users build trust and actively seek interaction with the furniture retailer – whether online or in-store.
At the heart of the user experience are the product worlds. Extensive search and filter functions provide clear orientation within the range. Highly configurable furniture can be configured directly online or alternatively requested in-store. This creates a seamless transition between digital offering and brick-and-mortar sales – flexible and customer-centric.
Omnichannel success in furniture retail
With the new omnichannel strategy, Möbel Bernskötter has significantly increased conversion rates both in-store and in the online shop. More than half of all leads are now generated via digital channels.
Every day, numerous inquiries are received via the online shop – from simple price requests to fully configured furniture solutions. At the same time, direct online sales are continuously increasing, so the shop not only serves as a consultation and contact platform, but is increasingly establishing itself as an independent sales channel in its own right.
Frequently asked – clearly answered
An online shop based on Shopware 6 makes it possible to present furniture with all its variants, offer it via configurators and seamlessly connect it with in-store sales processes. This enables retailers to increase reach, conversion rates and customer loyalty.
XcalibuR connects the ERP and PIM systems and ensures that product data, prices and availability are automatically kept up to date in the online shop. This makes data maintenance efficient and guarantees that customers always receive reliable information.
The shop is used not only for direct sales, but above all for lead generation. Prospective customers can configure furniture online, compare prices or submit enquiries – and, if needed, contact the furniture retailer directly. This strengthens in-store sales and ensures a consistent customer journey.
Furniture is a consultation-intensive product with many variants. Today, customers research online (“Research Online”) and then buy in-store (“Purchase Offline”). With an omnichannel strategy, both channels are seamlessly connected so that customers can switch between the online and offline worlds at any time.
The new e-commerce solution has increased conversion rates, and more than half of all prospects now come via digital channels. Every day, inquiries and configurations are processed through the shop – and direct online sales are also growing steadily.
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