Case Study: B&H Photo and Video achieves instant student verification and faster purchases with SheerID

Helping Educators and Students Through Tailored Offers

B&H Photo and Video, founded in 1973, is a leading retailer of professional photo, video and audio equipment whose EDU Advantage program offers discounted pricing to students and educators. The enrollment process required students to submit course IDs or schedules for manual review; applications were batched and checked only during business hours, creating up to a 48-hour wait and preventing verified students from using discounts until approval.

B&H implemented SheerID’s student verification API to create a custom, mostly automated workflow — 89% of applicants are now instantly verified and others can upload documentation for review. Turnaround dropped from 48 hours to about 20 minutes, membership applications and approvals increased, conversion of applicants to buyers rose to 5%, and the average first purchase moved from 60–90 days down to 7–10 days after verification.

B&H Photo and Video

Michael Solomon

EDU Marketing Manager