Flanagan Kerins, a long-standing independent family-owned furniture retailer, has announced a landmark step in its digital transformation journey. In an industry where in-person experiences have historically dictated consumer purchasing, Flanagan Kerins has introduced Leah, a specialised digital live sales agent. It is designed to guide, advise and assist online shoppers as they select, customise and purchase furniture for their homes. This innovative use of technology successfully bridges the gap between brick-and-mortar personalised service and digital convenience.Available directly at its digital showroom at flanagankerins.ie, Leah represents a thoughtful fusion of advanced retail technology and deep-rooted heritage customer care. Rather than serving as a standard, automated chatbot, Leah is engineered to act as an interactive interior design and product specialist. It provides tailored recommendations across Flanagan Kerins’s vast catalogue – ranging from statement fabric and leather sofas to bespoke bedding systems and artisan dining collections – giving remote users the same care, detailed knowledge and warm hospitality they would receive if they walked directly on to the physical showroom floor in Bray. For more than 80 years the name Flanagan Kerins have been synonymous with premium craftsmanship and exceptional client relations in Ireland. Originating from its iconic, long-time home in Mount Merrion, Dublin, before centralising their main operation at their spacious, modern showrooms in the Southern Cross Business Park in Bray, Co Wicklow, the business has consistently evolved alongside shifting generations. Led by co-directors Peter Flanagan and Damian Kerins, the brand has remained a trusted fixture by prioritising long-term quality over momentary convenience. Following this tried and trusted approach, the owners wanted to embrace the future of retail and recently engaged the services of a local AI product development company, PrismoCode.“Furniture shopping is deeply personal,” says Flanagan. “When a customer looks for a new corner sofa, a supportive mattress, or a dining set where their family will gather for years, they aren’t just looking at a list of physical dimensions or product specs. They’re looking for a feeling, an aesthetic, somewhere memories will be made. For decades, our showroom teams have excelled at guiding people through those emotional, high-investment decisions. However, as more customers look to online solutions for their buying journey, we recognised a critical need to mirror our traditional showroom DNA directly into the digital world. Leah is our answer to that challenge.” Leah was conceptualised not to replace the human element of retail, but to amplify and make it universally accessible. Recognising that home interior decisions can often feel overwhelming due to variations in fabrics, configuration layouts, wood finishes and mattress densities, Flanagan Kerins built Leah to simplify the decision-making process for users nationwide.When users visit the company’s website, Leah is readily accessible to assist with diverse, nuanced queries. Whether a customer is trying to decide between a plush Orla Kiely accent chair and a structured Tetrad wing chair, or looking to navigate the technicalities of advanced pocket-spring systems from leading bedding brands such as King Koil, Respa and Kaymed, Leah acts as a real-time concierge. The chatbot can cross-reference room dimensions, suggest complementary occasional pieces such as console tables or abstract rugs, clarify lead times, and answer complex questions regarding fabric care or delivery timelines.‘We have always believed that honouring your heritage doesn’t mean standing still’— Peter Flanagan, co-director of Flanagan Kerins“What makes Leah different is that she actually understands room layouts and how to pair furniture together,” says Kerins. “A typical online search filter can show you ‘grey sofas’, but Leah can help a customer understand which grey sofa pairs beautifully with an industrial-style coffee table or an antique-brass geometric mirror. She understands fabric textures, layout scaling, and functional household needs like identifying low-maintenance, resilient performance fabrics for busy households with young children or pets. It’s an interactive, high-touch consultation that completely redefines the standard ecommerce grid layout.”The roll-out of Leah comes at a pivotal period of growth for the Irish furniture sector, where online consumer expectations have dramatically escalated. Today’s consumers demand instantaneous answers, yet they remain hesitant to make large financial investments in high-end furniture without trusted validation.By implementing this interactive interface, Flanagan Kerins effectively resolves the primary friction point of online furniture buying: uncertainty. Leah provides real-time clarity, offering an intelligent layer of consultative support that eliminates guesswork. Furthermore, for shoppers requiring granular detail or customised requests, Leah works hand-in-hand with the physical Bray showroom team. The chatbot serves as a seamless conduit, allowing users to transition easily from digital browsing to direct human interaction via scheduled calls or showroom visits.This blended approach ensures that the business maintains its highly regarded personal reputation while scaling up to meet a growing nationwide consumer base. From Dublin and Wicklow to Cork, Galway and Donegal, Irish homeowners can now access premium interior advice, curate their matching sets and complete their transactions securely with absolute confidence.The introduction of Leah also aligns directly with Flanagan Kerins’ advocacy for the slow decorating movement – a sustainable design philosophy centred around buying fewer, better-quality pieces over time rather than succumbing to the culture of disposable, flat-pack convenience items. Because investing in high-quality furniture requires careful thought and a clear vision, Leah is meticulously optimised to support considered, deliberate decision-making. Customers can chat with Leah, save their favourite configurations, return days later to ask follow-up questions about wood finishes or mattress comfort levels and ensure that every item they buy fits seamlessly into their evolving home narrative. By utilising technological infrastructure to support careful, educated consumer spending, Flanagan Kerins is subverting the typical ecommerce push for rapid, impulsive checkouts, aligning technology perfectly with sustainability and heirloom quality.As Flanagan Kerins looks to the future, the integration of Leah marks just the beginning of the retailer’s ongoing commitment to retail innovation. The business continues to explore advanced digital frameworks, augmented viewing tools and personalised design portals to further elevate the customer experience. “We have always believed that honouring your heritage doesn’t mean standing still,” says Flanagan. “It means taking the values that made us successful from 1946 – honesty, expert knowledge, uncompromised quality and dedicated care – and deploying them through the best tools available in the modern era. Leah represents the future of how Flanagan Kerins will serve the next generation of Irish homeowners. We invite everyone across Ireland to visit our website, strike up a conversation with Leah and experience the next chapter of home furnishing first-hand.”To interact with Leah or explore the latest collections in living, dining, bedding and home accessories, please visit the official digital showroom at flanagankerins.ie