HomePortfolio's online coupon program shows return on investment to retailers
By Brian Carroll -- Furniture Today, December 9, 2001
NEWTON, Mass. — NEWTON, Mass. — Part of the problem for Internet companies trying to crack into the home furnishings industry has been quantifying their contributions in meaningful ways. With a new online coupon rebate program, HomePortfolio has managed to demonstrate a hard return on the investment by companies that become part of the HomePortfolio community.
The company has 21 furniture retailers so far participating in its rebate program, which boosts offline sales through online offers of rebates, usually 5% to 10% of the purchase price.
Retailers have reported an average of 2.2 transactions per month directly attributable to the rebates. Still very early in the program, these transactions average $2,687, according to the Internet marketing services company.
"The program has quickly validated what other retailers large and small are discovering," according to Steve Schneider, chief executive officer of HomePortfolio. "Consumers get the product information they need online, but look for a store to make the purchase."
Consumers clearly are using the Internet to gather information. HomePortfolio reports more than 90,000 "where to buy" requests per month during user sessions that average nearly 21 minutes.
To cash in on the rebates, which parallel the discount ranges used in print advertising, consumers print the Internet rebate page from their local retailer's showroom at Homeportfolio.com, then send it in to HomePortfolio after the purchase. Dealers get invoiced for rebates that are redeemed.
After rolling out the program in the greater Boston market and enrolling 21 dealers with 26 locations, HomePortfolio is targeting the Chicago and New York markets. Schneider said there is about a two-week lag time from signup to activation of a rebate program.
For all categories, including furniture, the average retail transaction has totaled about $1,500.
HomePortfolio says the program shows potential as a customer acquisition tool. Of consumers surveyed during a pilot of the Preferred Retailer program, 75% said they visited a retailer for the first time in order to take advantage of the rebate. About 85% reported not knowing the retailer carried the product they were interested in until learning about it on HomePortfolio.com.
Last month, HomePortfolio revamped its search capabilities to make its 225,000 product listings and 1,800 brands easier to navigate. The new search technology is the culmination of an extensive development initiative that incorporates consumer search and navigation behaviors tracked over a five-year period.
A search for a sofa, for example, can be executed by room, by brand, or by selecting "sofas" from a menu of categories. From the more than 1,000 sofas available, the search can be narrowed by specific brand or by price, style or type. Results include thumbnail product images and brief descriptions.
As first reported in eDaily
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