How Room & Board Turns Their Website into a Virtual Showroom
How does moving to a new place sound? Exciting, or just exhausting? For me, it’s a mix of both! My last move, 3–4 years ago, came with excitement but also a massive to-do list, like furniture shopping. As someone who loves the ease of e-commerce, shopping for furniture online this time actually posed unique challenges for me. The thought of purchasing a bed I hadn’t seen in person sounds so risky! What if it didn’t fit, or didn’t match the style in my room? Returning such a big piece would also be so painful!
So, how can furniture companies help customers, and themselves, sell more effectively online?
Let’s talk about a good example, Room & Board’s clever design and an excellent user experience (UX). Room & Board is a mid to high-end furniture and decor retailer offering American-made products with a focus on sustainability and timeless design.
First Impressions: A Clean, Easy-to-Navigate Website
My first interaction with the brand was browsing through its website on my laptop. Room & Board’s clean, minimalist website greets you with an aesthetic that draws you in. The navigation bar at the top neatly categorizes products by room and function, making it easy to find what you’re looking for. Hovering over the categories brings up even more specific options, along with helpful tips like “How to Style a Bed.” That is super helpful when you’re not quite sure how to style your new bedroom!
Smart Filters and Helpful Product Details
After selecting a product category, a product feed appears with various filtering options such as materials and collections. You can also sort by bestsellers, highest-rated, newest, or by price. Before even clicking on a product, you can see key details like price range, available colors, sizes, finishes, and the number of reviews. This makes it so much easier to compare and choose from similar products.
Interactive Features: 360-Degree Views and AR
Once you click on a product, like a bed, the product page offers additional features that will catch your eyes. This is where the magic happens! There is this 360-degree view that allows you to see the product from all angles. It’s like I could walk around the bed I was considering in real life! The AR (augmented reality) feature is even better — it lets you visualize how the bed would look in your actual room. Does it fit the vibe and the space? You’ll know instantly. And here’s the best part: you don’t need to download an app to do that. Just scan a QR code, and you can use the AR feature on your phone or tablet right away. It’s one of the coolest online shopping experiences I’ve ever had!
Inspiration, Customer Photos, and Social Sharing
The experience doesn’t end there. As you scroll, the website offers design ideas and advice for styling the product. No need to switch to Pinterest — it’s all here! They also encourage customers to share photos of their purchases, and when you click “add a photo,” you can upload it to their website or post it directly to Instagram or Facebook. Want to show off your new find? Room & Board connects you directly to the platform. And customer reviews? Right where they should be, at the bottom of the page.
A Seamless UX That Boosts Confidence
According to Webflow, a successful UX design helps visitors easily find what they’re looking for, and Room & Board does exactly that. I found the perfect bed using their filter options, 360-degree views, and AR feature. After adding the bed to my cart, I also got a reassuring pop-up message saying, “Nice Choice! Your cart has been updated.” Even though we all know it’s automated, it still adds a nice emotional touch. It makes me feel more confident about my choice, as if Room & Board was cheering me on!
Smooth Checkout Process
Now to the last part, checking out! The checkout process is straightforward, but one thing I appreciate is how Room & Board displays thumbnails of the exact color selected in your cart. This reduces the chance of mistakes and minimizes returns. The average ecommerce return rates is around 20–30%! Removing items from the cart is also easy and intuitive.
By the end of my shopping journey, I felt like I had just walked through a real showroom — minus the commute! The Room & Board website offers a fantastic shopping experience with tools like augmented reality and shoppable content that make it easy to explore options, create ideas, and make confident purchasing decisions. Like what the UX team for Room&Board said, their goal was to:
Build a website that feels just like walking into a showroom and even gets close to the “sit test”.
And I have to say, mission accomplished!
