Shelving shoppers who design online buy more, ClosetMaid finds
Talk about web-influenced sales. So far, consumers can’t actually purchase ClosetMaid wire shelving systems online, but the web has become ClosetMaid’s most important tool for increasing sales of the product and it’s responsible for millions in incremental sales annually, director of product management and Internet marketing Will Rose tells InternetRetailer.com.
ClosetMaid put its first closet design tool online at its own site five years ago and now also offers access to the tool through links on the retail web sites of Lowe’s Cos. Inc. and Home Depot Inc., ClosetMaid’s two biggest retail partners. Called the Idea Gallery on HomeDepot.com and the Design Selector on Lowes.com, the tool generates one of several pre-set closet configurations based on questions a shopper answers online. It instantly delivers an image of the closet system that’s the best match and a parts shopping list the customer can take to the local retailer for purchase.
In response to shoppers’ interest, ClosetMaid two years ago added a more sophisticated online design tool on its own site that allows greater customization. Last year, it launched on its site a third tool, a professional design service staffed with 17 architects and interior designers. For a fee of $15, customers supply dimensions and other information about storage needs online, and receive in return a customized closet system plan, color and line art rendering of the system, parts list and retailer list. When the design is completed, the customer receives an e-mail from ClosetMaid with a link to a web page, set up especially for that customer, from which the customer can view and print out the information. ClosetMaid supports the tool with live chat and e-mail.
“95% of visitors to our web site use one of the three tools,” Rose says. And useres buy more, too. Rose says the average ClosetMaid purchase for a customer who buys the shelving at a retailer without first using one of the online design tools is under $100, while the shopper who uses either the first-tier or second-tier design tool spends an average $200. Shoppers who use the online professional design service option spend the most: more than $300 on average.
“The tools are wildly poplar,” says Rose, which he attributes to the convenience factor and an extra measure of confidence they add to the purchase decision. “From the comfort of their own home people can go online and try several iterations. We wanted to give the consumer the power to walk into a store already knowing what they want,” Rose says. “People will spend more on a project if they are confident they’re doing the right thing and that they’re going to enjoy the end product. If you can see that closet perfectly laid out online and know exactly what you’re going to get, you’re very willing to spend the money.”
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