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How Tom&Co Gave Barker and Stonehouse a Digital Makeover
India Claydon
March 26, 2025
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4m
From Showroom to Screen: A Seamless Digital Experience
Barker and Stonehouse is a household name in the UK furniture industry, known for its stylish, high-quality pieces that bring personality into homes. With a rich history dating back to 1946, the brand has always been forward-thinking when it comes to retail. But as consumer expectations evolved, so did the need for a cutting-edge online experience that matched the luxury and sophistication of their products. That’s where Tom&Co came in.
We partnered with Barker and Stonehouse to deliver a high-performance, future-proof eCommerce platform, utilising headless technology for complete design freedom, robust analytics for data-driven decisions, and ongoing conversion rate optimisation (CRO) to continually refine and enhance the shopping experience.
We partnered with Barker and Stonehouse to deliver a high-performance, future-proof eCommerce platform, utilising headless technology for complete design freedom, robust analytics for data-driven decisions, and ongoing conversion rate optimisation (CRO) to continually refine and enhance the shopping experience.
Headless Tech: The Secret to a Flexible & Fast Website
One of the biggest challenges for any modern retailer is balancing a visually stunning design with a lightning-fast, seamless shopping experience. Barker and Stonehouse needed a solution that allowed them to update and customise their site easily, without being held back by the limitations of traditional eCommerce platforms.
Our answer? A headless architecture. Going headless meant we decoupled the front-end from the back-end, giving Barker and Stonehouse complete creative control while maintaining a highly efficient and scalable backend.This setup allows:
Unparalleled design freedom – No rigid templates, just a tailor-made user experience.
Blazing-fast site speeds – A crucial factor for reducing bounce rates and keeping customers engaged.
Seamless integrations – The ability to plug in best-in-class tools for analytics, customer support, and personalisation.
The result? A site that not only looks stunning but is also agile enough to evolve with the ever-changing demands of digital retail. We made sure to add an inspiration page so customers can get creative, explore design trends, and read blog posts and even sneak peek into other customers' homes!
Our answer? A headless architecture. Going headless meant we decoupled the front-end from the back-end, giving Barker and Stonehouse complete creative control while maintaining a highly efficient and scalable backend.This setup allows:
Unparalleled design freedom – No rigid templates, just a tailor-made user experience.
Blazing-fast site speeds – A crucial factor for reducing bounce rates and keeping customers engaged.
Seamless integrations – The ability to plug in best-in-class tools for analytics, customer support, and personalisation.
The result? A site that not only looks stunning but is also agile enough to evolve with the ever-changing demands of digital retail. We made sure to add an inspiration page so customers can get creative, explore design trends, and read blog posts and even sneak peek into other customers' homes!
Klevu: Smarter Search for a Seamless Shopping Experience
Finding the perfect piece of furniture should be as effortless as walking through a beautifully curated showroom. That’s why we integrated Klevu into Barker and Stonehouse’s eCommerce platform, delivering an intelligent and intuitive search experience.
Key features include:
Shop My Room – Customers can browse furniture collections based on fully styled room inspiration, making it easy to recreate looks they love.
Shop by Colour – A visually driven shopping experience that allows users to filter products by their preferred colour palette.
AI-Powered Search – Klevu dynamically personalizes results based on shopper behavior, ensuring that customers find the most relevant products quickly.
To further enhance conversions, we also implemented social proofing that builds customer confidence. Real-time notifications showcasing recent purchases, product popularity, and customer reviews create a sense of urgency and trust, encouraging hesitant shoppers to complete their purchases.
Key features include:
Shop My Room – Customers can browse furniture collections based on fully styled room inspiration, making it easy to recreate looks they love.
Shop by Colour – A visually driven shopping experience that allows users to filter products by their preferred colour palette.
AI-Powered Search – Klevu dynamically personalizes results based on shopper behavior, ensuring that customers find the most relevant products quickly.
To further enhance conversions, we also implemented social proofing that builds customer confidence. Real-time notifications showcasing recent purchases, product popularity, and customer reviews create a sense of urgency and trust, encouraging hesitant shoppers to complete their purchases.
Spotlight Feature: Showcasing Furniture at Its Best
The homepage is the digital storefront, and making an immediate impact is key to drawing in shoppers. We introduced an interactive Spotlight Feature that allows users to instantly showcase furniture with a simple click.
This feature enables customers to:
- Quickly view featured pieces without navigating away from the homepage.
- See furniture in curated settings that help visualize how it fits into their own space.
- Enhance engagement with a dynamic, visually rich browsing experience.
- By offering an engaging, immersive way to browse furniture, the Spotlight Feature ensures customers can explore collections effortlessly, leading to higher interaction and conversion rates.
Building Trust with Customer Feedback & Sustainability Initiatives
In today’s eCommerce world, trust and transparency are key factors in the customer decision-making process. That’s why we integrated Trustpilot into Barker and Stonehouse’s website, ensuring real customer feedback is always accessible.
By showcasing authentic reviews, we helped the brand:
Increase credibility – Prospective buyers can see genuine feedback from happy customers.
Enhance SEO – Fresh, user-generated content helps improve search rankings.
Boost conversions – Positive reviews act as social proof, encouraging hesitant shoppers to purchase with confidence.
Beyond Trustpilot, Barker and Stonehouse also provides additional reassurance through their Customers' Homes Inspiration Tab. This feature allows shoppers to see how real customers have styled their furniture, offering design inspiration and reinforcing purchase decisions.
For those who want extra certainty before committing, sample ordering is available. Customers can order fabric and material samples, ensuring they love the product before clicking ‘buy now.’
Recognising the growing importance of sustainability, Barker and Stonehouse proudly showcases their eco-conscious commitments. Product pages highlight initiatives such as:
“For every delivery we make of this product, we’ll plant a tree to offset carbon emissions.”
Finally, for their loyal customer base, Barker and Stonehouse leverages Ometria as their Email Service Provider to deliver highly personalised and targeted campaigns. These tailored messages help re-engage customers, share exclusive promotions, and keep shoppers informed about new collections and offers.
By showcasing authentic reviews, we helped the brand:
Increase credibility – Prospective buyers can see genuine feedback from happy customers.
Enhance SEO – Fresh, user-generated content helps improve search rankings.
Boost conversions – Positive reviews act as social proof, encouraging hesitant shoppers to purchase with confidence.
Beyond Trustpilot, Barker and Stonehouse also provides additional reassurance through their Customers' Homes Inspiration Tab. This feature allows shoppers to see how real customers have styled their furniture, offering design inspiration and reinforcing purchase decisions.
For those who want extra certainty before committing, sample ordering is available. Customers can order fabric and material samples, ensuring they love the product before clicking ‘buy now.’
Recognising the growing importance of sustainability, Barker and Stonehouse proudly showcases their eco-conscious commitments. Product pages highlight initiatives such as:
“For every delivery we make of this product, we’ll plant a tree to offset carbon emissions.”
Finally, for their loyal customer base, Barker and Stonehouse leverages Ometria as their Email Service Provider to deliver highly personalised and targeted campaigns. These tailored messages help re-engage customers, share exclusive promotions, and keep shoppers informed about new collections and offers.
Find Your Nearest Store with Ease
While Barker and Stonehouse’s online experience is a major draw, many customers still prefer to see and feel their furniture before making a purchase. To bridge the gap between online and offline, we implemented a Store Locator tool that makes finding the nearest showroom simple and intuitive.
With this feature, customers can:
Search by postcode or city to find their closest store.
View store details, including opening hours, contact information, and directions.
Check product availability at their chosen store for a seamless shopping journey.
Access a dedicated store landing page that provides store updates, available facilities, and even details on whether the store is dog-friendly—so customers can shop with their pooch!
This integration strengthens the omnichannel experience, ensuring customers can transition from online browsing to in-store visits effortlessly.
Search by postcode or city to find their closest store.
View store details, including opening hours, contact information, and directions.
Check product availability at their chosen store for a seamless shopping journey.
Access a dedicated store landing page that provides store updates, available facilities, and even details on whether the store is dog-friendly—so customers can shop with their pooch!
This integration strengthens the omnichannel experience, ensuring customers can transition from online browsing to in-store visits effortlessly.
Analytics That Power Smart Decisions
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. That’s why we brought in Measurelab, a powerhouse in analytics consultancy, to ensure Barker and Stonehouse had a crystal-clear view of their online performance.
With Measurelab’s expertise, the brand now has:
Accurate, actionable insights – No more guesswork; just solid data to drive business decisions.
Customer journey analysis – Understanding how shoppers navigate the site helps identify pain points and opportunities for optimisation.
Real-time performance tracking – Keeping a pulse on key metrics to adapt strategies as needed.
This data-driven approach has been instrumental in fine-tuning the website, ensuring that every change or feature update is backed by hard numbers rather than assumptions.
Accurate, actionable insights – No more guesswork; just solid data to drive business decisions.
Customer journey analysis – Understanding how shoppers navigate the site helps identify pain points and opportunities for optimisation.
Real-time performance tracking – Keeping a pulse on key metrics to adapt strategies as needed.
This data-driven approach has been instrumental in fine-tuning the website, ensuring that every change or feature update is backed by hard numbers rather than assumptions.
CRO with Convert: Making Every Click Count
Launching a website is just the beginning. At Tom&Co, we believe in long-term partnerships, which is why conversion rate optimisation (CRO) is a key part of our ongoing support for Barker and Stonehouse.
Using Convert.com, we run continuous A/B testing and experimentation to:
Enhance user experience – Identifying and fixing friction points in the customer journey.
Optimise conversion rates – Small tweaks can lead to big revenue increases.
Personalise the shopping experience – Testing different layouts, calls-to-action, and messaging to find what resonates most with customers.
Because eCommerce is constantly evolving, this ongoing CRO process ensures that Barker and Stonehouse stays ahead of the curve, making data-backed refinements to keep their website performing at its best.
Enhance user experience – Identifying and fixing friction points in the customer journey.
Optimise conversion rates – Small tweaks can lead to big revenue increases.
Personalise the shopping experience – Testing different layouts, calls-to-action, and messaging to find what resonates most with customers.
Because eCommerce is constantly evolving, this ongoing CRO process ensures that Barker and Stonehouse stays ahead of the curve, making data-backed refinements to keep their website performing at its best.
What’s Next? Customisation at Your Fingertips
The journey doesn’t stop here. We’re currently working on an exciting UX feature that will allow customers to fully configure their furniture selections. Soon, shoppers will be able to customise sofas and other furniture pieces with:
Choice of fabric and colour
Custom piping and detailing
Selection of different leg styles and finishes
This level of personalisation will empower customers to create furniture that perfectly fits their style and space, bringing a truly bespoke experience to Barker and Stonehouse’s online platform.
Choice of fabric and colour
Custom piping and detailing
Selection of different leg styles and finishes
This level of personalisation will empower customers to create furniture that perfectly fits their style and space, bringing a truly bespoke experience to Barker and Stonehouse’s online platform.
Want to chat to us about a project?
At Tom&Co, we don’t just build websites; we create scalable digital experiences that grow alongside our clients. With Barker and Stonehouse, we’ve built a foundation that allows for continuous innovation and improvement. As the brand continues to expand and evolve, we’ll be right there with them, ensuring that their online presence remains as premium as the furniture they sell.
Want to know how we could help you? Call us on 0207 351 3521, or fill in our contact form and someone from our team will get in touch!