Tools Online
Times are changing and so are the shoppers, what are some keys to keeping up with the power tool industry?
A few decades ago you would take a trip to your local hardware store and get fitting with the perfect tool by your local hardware salesperson(half the time a family friend). Consumers are now buying tools online - the world is changing,
customers are changing; and shopping is changing.
The majority of online shoppers are female leading at about 60% of online sales and believe it or not that stays true in the power tool industry with female shopper on average contributing to between 50 and 55% of online purchases.
But the main changes in demographic for the tool industry are with age groups. The age groups 15-24 and 25-35 take up almost 75% of tools online sales - sharing about half that each.
As generations get older and young people and apprentices are coming into the industry the demographic is changing and we expect more and more business to be coming from the younger generations.
The younger generations having grown up with the internet have a different level of comfort, even security(perhaps sometimes too much) and are reaching out to the convenience and comfort of shopping for tools online more and more and we don't expect this to change - in fact quite the opposite.
One thing however that has not changed and never will is the value of customer service and providing quality. If you can secure your business by providing quality customer service, quality user-friendly environments, quality prices and quality service all around by practicing out of a genuine honesty then customers will stay loyal and repay that by coming back.
Some good strategies are to keep up with the youth. Which means paying attention to the latest fads - social media and online entertainment, while maintaining trust by providing good quality service and valuable product. Building your customers trust should be your first priority and will pay off exponentially.
Saying this don't forget your faithful and loyal older generation of customers, to them clarity and customer service are just as important(if not more) so don't keep them out of the loop or segregate them with your business visual appearance or communication tactics - all ages understand good service so if you can achieve this then you're on your way to success in selling tools online.
Studies show customers will choose trust and good service over price differences. So where are you placing your bets?
