OfficeMax Upgrades B2B Online Customer Experience On OfficeMaxWorkplace.com

NAPERVILLE, Ill., May 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- OfficeMax^® Incorporated (NYSE:OMX), a leader in office supplies, technology and services and the 11th largest online retailer¹, today announced a new search engine, with content and navigation improvements on its OfficeMax Workplace^SM business-to-business e-commerce site, OfficeMaxWorkplace.com, to deliver a faster and more streamlined online shopping experience. As the improvements were phased in during the month of March, OfficeMaxWorkplace.com experienced increases in conversion rate, average revenue per visit, and positive customer feedback around site navigation and the new search functionality.

OfficeMax Workplace enlisted input from its business customers to help identify and validate upgrades that were most important to help organizations gain greater efficiency and control of their online procurement processes.

"Listening to our customers to help shape these search and navigation upgrades further supports our commitment to being a strategic partner and delivering solutions that help address the needs of their businesses," said John Kenning, executive vice president and president of OfficeMax Workplace. "Our customers are telling us how much they enjoy shopping on our improved site, and how quick and convenient the shopping experience is."

New site features include re-organized shopping categories to more closely align with how customers shop on the site; and type-ahead text which better and more accurately anticipates customer queries and showcases recommendations on products, brands and other search terms. OfficeMax Workplace also added thousands of product pages, and updated thousands of product characteristics to make products more visible and help customers more quickly refine, sort and view their product searches based on parameters such as brand, color and relevant product attributes.

"Search and navigation are key for our customers to be able to purchase what they need quickly and conveniently to get back to the task of running their businesses," said Jim Barr, OfficeMax executive vice president and chief digital officer. "These improvements are also crucial for our success as an Internet product and solutions provider, and represent our long-term commitment to providing e-commerce solutions for our business-to-business customers."

The search engine and navigation upgrades are among many ongoing improvements that OfficeMax Workplace is making to its business-to-business e-commerce platforms to improve the customer shopping experience. Late last year, OfficeMax Workplace launched a new site design to make the procurement process easier and more intuitive.   Thousands of new products were also added in the first quarter.

Backed by more than 45 years of combined business experience in North America and international operations, OfficeMax Workplace provides a unified approach to product and service solutions – including office supplies, interiors and furniture, print and documents, facility resources, and technology.  This range of solutions enables OfficeMax Workplace to understand each organization's unique needs and then customize an integrated program to help organizations manage their overall spend and gain greater control of the procurement process from one single source.

About OfficeMax
OfficeMax Incorporated (NYSE: OMX) is a leader in integrating products, solutions and services for the workplace, whether for business or at home.  The OfficeMax mission is simple: We provide workplace innovation that enables our customers to work better.  The company provides office supplies and paper, print and document services, technology products and solutions, and furniture to businesses and consumers.  OfficeMax consumers and business customers are served by approximately 29,000 associates through OfficeMax.com; OfficeMaxWorkplace.com and Reliable.com; more than 900 stores in the U.S. and Mexico; and direct sales and catalogs. OfficeMax has been named one of the 2013 World's Most Ethical Companies, and is the only company in the office supply industry to receive Ethics Inside^® Certification by the Ethisphere Institute.  To find the nearest OfficeMax, call 1-877-OFFICEMAX.  For more information, visit www.OfficeMax.com.

All trademarks, service marks and trade names of OfficeMax Incorporated used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of OfficeMax Incorporated. Any other product or company names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

¹Internet^® Retailer Magazine 2013 Top 500 list

OfficeMax Media Contact
Nicole Miller
630.864.6069

SOURCE OfficeMax Incorporated