Online electronics retailer Abt introduces more personalization

Sales at AbtElectronics.com increased by around 35% in 2005 and the multi-channel retailer is counting on even more personalization tools to drive traffic and sales in 2006.

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Within 30 days, Abt, No. 134 in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Guide to Retail Web Sites, expects to enhance its e-commerce site with several new tools that will enable shoppers to view their purchases, track orders and look for available rebates, says Jon Abt, vice president of marketing. Abt, which began selling online in 1997, is also enhancing site search.

The company is implementing enhanced Google applications and search tools from Vivísimo Inc. that will correct misspellings, broaden the number of returns to customer search queries and suggest more related merchandise. “We’re enhancing the site’s usability by giving visitors and customers a better way to access information,” Abt says.

Abt is also using the web to drive multi-channel sales. The retailer is installing an interactive gift registry using technology from Marcole Enterprises Inc., a provider of in-store and Internet gift registry systems. When the gift registry is launched within the next month, Abt customers will be able to go online to register for gifts and create a personalized wish list and perform the same functions in the retailer’s suburban Chicago superstore using a web-enabled kiosk. “Whether a customer is shopping online or in the store, they can use the interactive gift registry to make and track changes for various occasions such as weddings, birthdays, holidays, housewarmings, and other special occasions,” Abt says.

Abt was founded as a Chicago retailer in 1936 and offline sells to regional customers in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana. But with better site search and more personalization, AbtElectronics.com wants to build a broader national e-commerce base, Abt says. “The web store creates a national footprint for us,” Abt says. ‘We’re enhancing the site to make it easier to find product information and merchandise.”