Web presence enhances customer service

Dana French -- Furniture Today, August 29, 2011

JS Furniture Gallery launched a website in 1999 and in 2004 became a client of ayr1. One of the sales tools ayr1 provides for the retailer is buyer inquiries, an area on all product pages where online shoppers can click to inquire about specific products.

Vice president, John Lopes believes that having the website creates traffic due to the one-on-one attention customers receive. When shoppers click on the inquiry link an email message alerts Lopes that a customer needs attention.

"I feel that 30% of our foot traffic is a direct result of the individualized email response customers receive online," says Lopes.

The furniture store has three brick and mortar locations, two in Winnipeg and one in Portage La Prairie, Canada. The business was founded in 1974 and had 2010 total sales of more than $5 million.

Anatomy of a furniture website Stats for JS Furniture Gallery, July 12-Aug. 11, 2011
5,350 unique visitors	8 pages per visit
53,305 page views	3 minutes average time on site
Source: ayr1

About the data

ayr1 is the world's largest virtual store provider, offering retailers a functional solution that drives their business to greater success. Since its inception in 1999, ayr1 has specialized in the maximization of retailer web content and search engine optimization. With more than 3,000 retail catalogues, ayr1 provides retailers with unparalleled inventory, making their virtual store more prevalent to search engines, thereby more visible to consumers. Virtual stores built by ayr1 give retailers the ability to connect directly to prequalified customers, as well as launch numerous types of marketing initiatives. www.ayr1.com

eIntent is a regular feature analyzing online furniture website data by Dana French, Director of Research. Ideas for future reports can be shared with Dana at dfrench@furnituretoday.com.