ToolKing.com crowns new web platform
Online tool distributor ToolKing.com has implemented the J2EE web site platform to improve functionality and usability. The new web platform replaces the company’s previous .Net system.
The new platform is expected to improve the overall shopping experience by enabling customers to more efficiently navigate the site’s products and complete purchases. The new system rolled out in November and December. It will enable customers to search on any combination of keywords and find specific products, sorted by price, brand and category, says Don Cohen, managing partner.
ToolKing.com is No. 302 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web Sites.
The J2EE platform also is expected to improve sales. ToolKing customers have traditionally been impatient with the purchasing process and have abandoned the shopping cart before making a purchase. With the help of J2EE, shopping cart improvements include more payment options, extended warranties and the ability to make a purchase without having an account. “These enhancements made on the cart will increase the speed of check-out by 300%,” Cohen says.
The J2EE platform was attractive because it will accommodate company growth, Cohen explains. “For smaller organizations that don’t plan to grow as aggressively as we are, .Net technology will be fine,” he says. The downside is that J2EE is relatively new and support staff is harder to find.
ToolKing.com’s site upgrades already are yielding improved sales activity, Cohen asserts, but declined to get into specific revenue figures. “We’ve had a 50% increase in our conversion rate over the last three months,” he notes.
Higher conversion rates result from working in tandem with analytics software vendor Fireclick Inc. That produced better data analysis and helped management identify where customers have issues and drop off instead of completing a sale, Cohen adds.
At the same time, ToolKing.com is upgrading site content. Improvements will include expanded product listings with more images and online videos, and access to proprietary, unbiased buying guides and discussion boards, Cohen says. The buying guides are helping fulfill the company’s plan to educate customers, which helps the buyer make decisions and relieves some of the burden on customer service staff.
Some of the new features, such as guest checkout--for customers without an account--and the buying guides already are in place. All new features and marketing initiatives will be tested and ToolKing.com will monitor customer navigation efficiency by offering a live chat function that will link customers and sales representatives.
Among ToolKing.com’s next technological projects is a web site overhaul slated for completion sometime in the second quarter of 2007, Cohen says.
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