Hardwood Flooring February March 2018

Digital Disruption in Wood Flooring (Continued)

published on the website, including a comprehensive hardwood flooring shopping guide and general wood flooring advice. Gould says educating the consumer is one of the best things that wood flooring businesses can do to protect their market – and their margin: “I’ve always said that in the absence of other information, price is the only thing that differentiates one product from another.” Today’s buyers, especially millennials, go online first and then visit a showroom. “Unfortunately, the internet has some retailers at an impasse, because the millennial buyer is going there first, and once they read 10 articles, they think they’re as knowledgeable as the floor salesman, who is really trying to sell them something they don’t want or need,” Gould says. Gould says that whether you sell actual product online or not, companies do need an online presence – and they need to use that platform to educate. “Put more than store hours, your years in business, and a picture of your store on your website,” he says. And if you do sell online, invest in SEO and good product data, and make sure you have the logistics infrastructure to be able to deliver. And just because it’s online doesn’t mean you have to sell for the lowest price, Hosking says. “Flooring is very competitive, and it always will be,” he says. “We’re competitive with everybody else, but we’re just not going to go down to selling it for nothing just to make the sale. There is just too much involved with it.” Lindsay Konzak is President of 3 Aspens Media (3aspensmedia.com), which provides marketing- and research- driven content for businesses. She is also the former editor of Modern Distribution Management (mdm.com) and has written extensively about Amazon’s impact on B2B channels.

is to their business. In the same survey, 15 percent of manufacturers said they sell through online channels. Even if Amazon doesn’t move quickly into flooring, it is putting its toes in the water with installation services. The question that remains is whether NWFA members will meet Amazon and other competitors with an improved digital game and whether they will differentiate themselves by translating their product knowledge and reliable installer connections online. Independents in the wood flooring industry that already have succeeded online have done it despite the challenges. In 1998, Massachusetts- based Hosking Hardwood launched its first e-commerce website in response to the big-box threat. “I said in order to be competitive, we’re going to have to do something a little different,” says Owner Jeff Hosking. Hosking Hardwood, with Simonson’s company’s support, grew to offer more than 58,000 styles of flooring, moldings, and installation accessories through their website. Hosking knows firsthand how difficult selling wood flooring online can be. “It can get daunting,” he says. “We went through the learning curve very early on as far as shipping.” Simonson says any retailer that wants to sell online must view it as its own channel, and dedicate a separate team to it. Hosking gets 600-800 phone calls a day from its website, asking about whether a floor will work, how to buy trims and molding, how flooring is installed, howmuch it costs, how long it will take to get, and more. “The lines are busy here at all times,” Hosking says.

analytics showing buyer preferences, locations, price tolerances, market trends, and competitive offerings. BuildDirect’s goal is to “fully connect homeowners and pro buyers with sellers from around the world,” according to an October 2017 press release. When BuildDirect relaunched their seller portal in 2016, participation far surpassed its expectations, with 100,000 new products as of October 2016 and 212 new suppliers, according to its bankruptcy filing. This added to 6,500 and 250, respectively, before the February 2016 launch. More revealing, BuildDirect said in its filing that its primary assets are not the products sold through the platform, but the technology and data driving it. Countering digital disruption In mid-2017, we asked NWFAmembers what they were most concerned about going into 2018, and none mentioned Amazon. That said, many NWFAmembers are still concerned about trends that have been driven or exacerbated by online competition: product commoditization, manufacturers selling direct, and the changing shopping habits of consumers. Most respondents recognize they need a stronger online presence, but many aren’t sure where to start, let alone how important an online platform

His success getting found by prospective customers online is due in part to content he has

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