Houston, Texas—Buffaloe Floors and Up has introduced a mobile showroom to help consumers shop for flooring during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Initially, the mobile showroom idea was a way to give customers a simplified process to get flooring,” said Alred Soyyar, president. “When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the mobile showroom became an alternative and safe way to shop while maintaining social distancing protocols.”
The interior of a Chevy passenger bus was converted into a showroom. Consumers can board the showroom and browse through various types of flooring such as carpet, LVP, wood and tile. Quartz countertop samples will eventually be added to the mobile showroom, the company said.
The idea, according to the company, is to take the bus anywhere and everywhere. Buffaloe Floors and Up is also launching an app that allows flooring consumers to find current locations of the buses or shedule an appointment for the mobile showroom to come to their home or business.
Another feature of the app is a flooring visualizer. Consumers will be able to take a picture of a room and augment their flooring selection to get a very clear idea of what the room will look like with the new flooring prior to committing. The can be downloaded for free on aniPhone or Android device by searching for “FloorUp.”
The retailer is currently expanding into the Austin Market. A second bus is expected to be added by early next year, and Soyyar said he hopes to expand the fleet even further.
“Our goal for the future is to have multiple mobile showrooms tha will be in various cities around Texas,” Soyyar said. “We are looking at additional launches in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, Dallas and other places. The exciting part is we can take them where the demand is.”
The bus can be taken anywhere, free of charge, such as neighborhood civic club meetings, realtor open houses or shopping centers.
“The mobile showroom is something that will change the way homeowners shop for flooring,” Soyyar said. “We’re taking an old business model that’s been around for ages and injecting technology. By utilizing existing and forthcoming technology, our goal is to make the flooring experience less stressful and more economical.”