Benzinga | Mar 3, 2021 09:07AM EST

HNI Corp. Reports Partnership With Marxent For Release Of Several New 3D Commerce Apps

Today HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI) and Marxent announced the release of several new 3D Commerce apps. Included are a 3D Product Configurator for Hearth & Home Technologies, the HON Now 3D Room Planner and the mobile-friendly HON Home Office Scene Configurator - all created to serve consumers who are working and shopping from home.



Social distancing measures along with the nearly 50 percent* of US employees who worked from home this year have driven demand for self-service exploration and e-commerce in the home office furniture vertical. The number of Google searches for terms like "ergonomic chair" and "standing desk" grew exponentially throughout 2020, and online retailers have reported record home office furniture sales.

"Telecommuting has seen significant growth during 2020 and we expect this 'new normal' to persist. All work-from-home employees deserve comfortable office spaces at reasonable price points, tailored to their needs," said Kris Rao, Chief Information and Digital Officer for HNI. "In addition to telecommuting, consumers are investing more in their homes and remodeling projects and desire the ability to buy interior home products such as fireplaces in the most easy and interactive way. From the comfort of their own home, consumers can personalize a hearth product, preview it in real-time and request a consult with the 3D Product Configurator. We needed a partner who could make it happen quickly. Marxent's speed to market was unmatched. They helped us to launch multiple applications for us across brands in just 4 months."

"When the sudden need for socially distant shopping made 3D commerce essential for home office furniture manufacturers, we were ready to expand the utility of Marxent 3D Cloud to meet the unique needs of this category," said Beck Besecker, Marxent's CEO and Co-Founder.

"Marxent has established a track record in 3D applications for residential furniture, kitchen, bathroom, and outdoor space planning over the past three years," Besecker said. "We pivoted quickly to extend our 3D product configuration and 3D room planner innovations to a space where there was an immediate and compelling need - home office furniture and home hearth products."

"We chose Marxent not only for their visualization platforms, but also their approach to partnering. Their operation is designed to help us stay ahead of the sea of new technologies to better serve our customers," Rao said. "Marxent brings scale, speed, maturity, reusable assets, and professionalism to 3D configuration and space planning. They do it all."

To experience the new HON Scene Configurator or HON Now 3D Room Planner, visit hon.com. To try the new Heat & Glo 3D Product Configurator, visit heatnglo.com.

*"COVID-19 and Remote Work: An Early Look at US Data." Erik Brynjolfsson, John Horton, et al. April 8, 2020.