Six months after buying the assets of PCUniverse.com for $500,000, eMedia Management LLC plans to update the site with social marketing and a faster shopping cart.
The goal: carve out a niche in the crowded online personal computer and electronics space by courting consumers looking for gear for their home and leisure activities. Under the previous owners, PC Universe, No. 410 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, focused primarily on information technology and business buyers.
To fit eMedia Management’s focus on more business-to-consumer e-commerce, PCUniverse.com is being updated with a faster shopping cart and more product configuration tools that give shoppers more options to customize a PC or laptop computer. The retailer is working with Keylex Internet Solutions, a Teaneck, NJ, web site design and applications development firm. “We’re making the site more usable and consumer-friendly,” says eMedia Management president Perry Dubinsky.
Most of the new tools will go live this fall. EMedia Management also plans to develop a social marketing program incorporating Facebook and Twitter for PCUniverse.com and eventually add a mobile commerce initiative. Plans also are underway to add more customer service representatives, live chat and 24-hour customer contact, says Dubinsky. Vendor negotiations are ongoing. “Improving customer service is a high priority,” he says.
EMedia Management acquired the assets of PCUniverse.com after the previous owners sold the company to pay off debt, including $275,000 owed to IBM Credit LLC. After acquiring the company and revamping some operations, PC Universe.com debuted as a business-to-consumer e-commerce site in March. “Now that we’re up and running we’re looking to have a good third and fourth quarter,” says Dubinsky.
PCUniverse.com generated $13 million in sales in 2008. “We anticipate a 25% to 30% increase in sales over last year,” says Dubinsky.
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