New York—Broadlume, a leader in flooring technology, announced the launch of its Digital Retailing program. This new program aims to bridge the technological gap between manufacturers and retailers, improving how they work together to sell flooring. Simply, Digital Retailing is technology that enables shoppers to complete most of the transaction online and finalize it in a showroom.
The flooring industry has fallen behind similar industries due to a lack of technology and alignment between manufacturers and retailers, according to Broadlume. Digital Retailing provides the solution by offering customers a shopping experience where they can easily discover products, seamlessly communicate with a store and navigate the buying process without friction. This new floor buying experience provides significant benefits for both manufacturers and retailers.
Manufacturers who participate in the Digital Retailing program see a significant increase in their brand awareness, product sampling and customer engagement, according to Broadlume.
For retailers, Digital Retailing has the potential to fundamentally change how they run their businesses. By allowing customers to learn about products online, visualize them in their homes and order product samples directly to their doorstep, retailers are poised to achieve higher close rates and an increase in sales as they engage with knowledgeable, ready-to-buy shoppers.
With Digital Retailing, informed shoppers are 5.4x more likely to submit a lead online, according to Broadlume. Thousands of Broadlume retailers who’ve received early access to the Digital Retailing program are already reaping the rewards.
“Customers like to shop in their underwear or on weekends, and we’ve seen leads come in at 7 or 8 o’clock at night,” said Josh Crossgrove, Head of Sales at Simplified Flooring. “One of those leads came through our website, used our Digital Retailing tools, and it resulted in a $26,000 sale. She came into the store just one time.”
Every customer interaction will live inside Broadlume’s DealerHQ. Retailers can easily view the most visualized products, track the delivery of sample orders and view every essential data point within the shopping journey. The program allows retailers to exponentially improve how they operate their stores.
For the industry, this announcement arrives at a crucial moment, given the challenging economic outlook, rising customer expectations and the need for retailers to achieve more with limited resources; maximizing every new sales opportunity is essential. “Digital Retailing isn’t just the technology that Broadlume provides to retailers,” said Todd Saunders, CEO of Broadlume. “It’s the shopping experience as a result of these incredibly rich integrations between a retailer’s business and the manufacturer’s products. The manufacturers we’ve partnered with to launch Digital Retailing represents an unprecedented investment toward helping independent retailers transform the customer experience and a better way to operate and scale their businesses.”
As of today, Mohawk, Belknap-Haines, The Dixie Group (Masland, TruCor, DH Floors and Fabrica), Hallmark Floors, Stark and Raskin Industries have committed to providing the program to their aligned retailers, with more manufacturers to be announced shortly.