This online furniture brand now lets you book a design consultation by phone or text 

Home goods retailers, just like the rest of the world, are busy navigating a new reality as cities shut down to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. People are staying home. Stores are closed. But the internet is buzzing with activity—and some brands are adapting fast to meet the shoppers where they are.

Last month in New York City, Burrow, the direct-to-consumer online furniture brand known for its flatpack sofas, opened Burrow House, its expanded brick-and-mortar store in New York City that also curates products from fellow DTC retailers, the paint brand Clare and houseplant purveyor The Sill. The vision was an interactive showroom where you can see the furniture, paint, and plants in person, while getting decor advice on the spot.

But under pandemic conditions, Burrow has closed the store and decided to fast-track a service that recreates the IRL shopping experience virtually for customers everywhere.

“Burrow House from home” lets you book a 15- or 30-minute appointment online with one of the company’s trained, full-time design experts, who, over the phone or text, can advise on decor questions like figuring out the right seating or rug option, what plant or paint color to add to your space, and of course, place orders.

Adding a human touch to online shopping, the service is likely just one of many examples of even digitally native brands racing to ramp up virtual offerings when people need to stay in nesting mode.