Furniture retailer Loft Home saves 40% operational time with SleekFlow’s Shopify integration and automation

Loft Home, a leading furniture retailer in Singapore, has redefined affordable luxury by working directly with factories to eliminate middleman costs. With a vast catalogue of over 3,000 products and a physical showroom in Gambas, the brand caters primarily to office professionals and new homeowners. As order volumes grew, Loft Home turned to SleekFlow to bridge the gap between its Shopify store and Singaporeans' preferred channel of communication: WhatsApp.

The Challenge: Manual bottlenecks in a high-growth environment

Before SleekFlow, Loft Home’s sales team faced a gruelling manual process for each order. Sales staff were required to manually save customer contact numbers and send order updates individually via WhatsApp. This process would take up to two hours before even reaching out to the customer. 

This manual process not only slowed response times but also increased the risk of human error, including mistyped phone numbers, misdirected messages containing sensitive order information, and missed enquiries or orders. The turning point came when a staff resignation led to a manpower shortage, making it clear that manual processes were no longer sustainable for a rapidly growing business.

The solution: SleekFlow as a unified conversation engine

Loft Home implemented SleekFlow to automate their post-purchase journey, choosing WhatsApp as a high-engagement communication alongside email.

1. Instant responses to high-intent customer enquiries

In the furniture industry, customer inquiries are constant and highly specific, ranging from precise product measurements and stock availability to lead times for pre-order items and showroom visit details. Because WhatsApp is the preferred communication channel for Loft Home’s demographic, customers expect immediate, accurate answers to help them make a decision.

With SleekFlow, every new inquiry is automatically acknowledged instantly, ensuring the customer feels supported the moment they reach out. Even outside business hours, an out-of-office message reassures them that their inquiry will be addressed first thing in the morning. 

Salespeople no longer need to manually reply to every first message, freeing them up to handle more complex consultations, and high-intent leads are captured without delay, even during peak periods, ensuring no potential sale falls through the cracks due to a slow response.

2. Converting showroom footfall into ongoing sales conversations

Furniture purchases are rarely impulsive. Customers often visit the physical showroom to explore options, but may not make a decision during the same trip. To prevent high-intent leads from going cold, Loft Home provides each salesperson with a unique QR code printed on their name card.

When scanned, follow-up questions and discussions are routed back to the same salesperson, allowing customers to continue the conversation with someone they already interacted with. This continuity helps convert showroom interest into completed purchases, without requiring additional manual follow-ups from the sales team. Even when a purchase is made on the spot, it allows buyers to remain connected with their sales representative for post-purchase check-ins or follow-up questions about their order. 

3. Orchestrating an effective multi-channel communication strategy

Enhance deliverability for critical updates with WhatsApp

While many retailers rely solely on email, Loft Home understands that in a fast-paced market like Singapore, a multi-channel approach is essential for reliability. By using WhatsApp alongside email, they create a fail-safe communication loop that keeps customers informed.

For critical updates such as order confirmations and shipping notifications, Loft Home sends an official copy via email to the customer’s records while also triggering a WhatsApp message. Not only does this extra layer of transparency give customers peace of mind, but the WhatsApp conversation also provides a convenient way to contact Loft Home instantly for clarification or follow-up.

Using broadcasts in conjunction with email newsletters to boost conversions

When it comes to marketing, Loft Home is strategic about which channel they use for specific goals. While email is their tool of choice for broad brand engagement and large-scale newsletters, they pivot to SleekFlow for "bottom-of-the-funnel" conversions where the stakes and purchase intent are higher.

By segmenting their database in SleekFlow, Loft Home identifies high-intent leads—such as customers who have engaged with the brand or visited the showroom within the last two months but haven’t yet made a purchase. Instead of sending these leads another email that might sit unread, they use SleekFlow to send targeted WhatsApp broadcasts.

WhatsApp broadcasts have a much higher open rate. Customers can directly reply with questions about promotions, facilitating a two-way conversation that email cannot match.

Max Guo

Managing Partner

4. Automating post-purchase communication through Shopify integration

Loft Home uses Shopify Plus to trigger API calls to SleekFlow, automating order confirmations and shipping updates via WhatsApp and email. This ensures that customers who do not check their email, particularly elderly customers or homemakers, do not miss important delivery information, as it is delivered on a platform they use daily.

Moreover, the native SleekFlow and Shopify integration makes order numbers, product links, and purchase details directly available within the chat, allowing the contact owner to reference order information instantly while responding to customers

A time saver for a rapidly growing team

By centralising communication and data, Loft Home has achieved a 40% reduction in daily manual operational time, fundamentally changing how the team works. The integration of Shopify data directly into the SleekFlow sidebar means sales agents no longer waste time toggling between platforms; order numbers, product URLs, and purchase histories are visible instantly alongside the chat. This transparency extends to team collaboration, through shared chat histories and internal notes, colleagues can seamlessly pick up where an off-duty agent left off. By eliminating the friction of manual data entry and fragmented information, Loft Home has ensured that no leads are missed and that every customer receives a consistent, high-quality experience.

SleekFlow is very efficient and has been a huge time saver. We are confident that our current setup can scale alongside our increased order volume.

Max Guo

Managing Partner

About Loft Home

Loft Home is a Singapore-based furniture and home decor retailer dedicated to providing premium designer furniture at honest prices. Founded in 2017, the brand operates on a Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) model, cutting out middlemen and working directly with the world’s top manufacturing facilities.

Specialising in a curated collection of diverse styles from minimalist to industrial, Loft Home focuses on practical design and excellent craftsmanship. By managing their own logistics, warehouse, and delivery fleet, they ensure quality control and a hassle-free experience for homeowners seeking stylish, affordable, high-quality living solutions.