eCommerce Success Story: Burrow, a Different Furniture Store (1)

If you have been following us for a while, you already know that we love case studies of online stores. We firmly believe that a lot can be learned by seeing how and why other eCommerce businesses succeed, sparking inspiration.

And speaking of lightbulbs, lamps, and decoration in general, we are going to introduce you to a great case. Ready to see how Burrow operates and what makes this store special within its online furniture niche?

Now, let’s travel back a decade. It is 2015, on the campus of a university in Pennsylvania. Two friends are having a drink while sharing their frustrations, which, interestingly, happen to be the same.

Both had purchased sofas for their apartments. While Stephen Kuhl had bought his from IKEA for over $600 and struggled to assemble it, Kabeer Chopra had waited weeks to receive his from West Elm, only to have to transport it himself, and it was not even the right color.

With this problem in mind, they created an academic project for their entrepreneurship class. They identified the key issues: sofas were expensive, and logistics were a challenge in themselves.

Initially, these two students treated the idea as just another school project, but after crunching the numbers and validating their business idea, they realized there was something interesting there.

They knew that to bring their plan to life, they would need a designer to create prototypes, considering they were budding entrepreneurs with no knowledge of how to physically produce the product.

Ultimately, the two partners had no choice but to raise funds to take this venture seriously. They managed to gather $350,000 from family and friends, followed a year later by another $125,000 from a startup accelerator.

From the beginning, we have been talking about sofas because they were the initial inspiration for the business idea. However, over time, they have expanded their catalog with other products. What has not changed is the philosophy behind their furniture.

Burrow’s founders want their furniture to follow three key principles:

A Burrow sofa arrives in several boxes, neatly folded. To assemble it, they have patented a lever system that is as ingenious as it is sturdy. The only part that requires screws is the legs. Since there are not many screws involved, assembling and disassembling the furniture does not cause excessive wear, so if you move, you can take it with you and continue enjoying its same durability.

If you read us regularly, you know that we do not usually focus too much on the websites of success stories unless they have a special feature. Burrow is precisely such a case.

Selling furniture online is not particularly complex. In fact, Burrow’s site is not very different from any other store in many of its products. However, for modular solutions, where customers can choose different configurations, fabrics, finishes, and accessories (especially for sofas and shelves), they had to rethink the product pages.

Let’s look at an example.

We have a modular sofa, and to make selection easier, Burrow offers several base configurations (2-seater, 3-seater, 4-seater, with chaise lounge, without it, etc.).

Next, we choose the material from three types: fabric, leather, and velvet, each with different color options. The same selection process applies to the legs, with three wood and three metal options.

Additionally, customers can choose between three different armrest styles and two cushion finishes: smooth or with seams.

Finally, there is the option to add extras like a chaise lounge, an ottoman, or additional cushions in the same finish as the sofa.

Beyond this, it is fair to acknowledge that their product pages are true works of art. They feature outstanding multimedia content, particularly their videos, which beautifully demonstrate how to assemble the furniture and configure the sets while also emphasizing the aspirational aspect.

Their images go beyond simply showcasing the furniture against a neutral background. They place the pieces within a living space where customers can easily envision themselves. Every image serves a purpose, nothing is random. A great example is a simple infographic that illustrates how a TV fits a particular piece of furniture depending on the screen size.

This is where we will leave the first part of Burrow’s eCommerce success story, in which we have primarily focused on the business model.

Stay tuned to our blog because in the next post we will take a detailed look at their communication and content strategy, which offers plenty of inspiration.