FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Sonya Ruff Jarvis, 347-886-0275
Home Improvement eRetailer Summit brings
e-commerce leaders together
ORLANDO, Fla., December 8, 2017 — The second annual Home Improvement eRetailer Summit was held last week, bringing together manufacturers, distributors, and pre-qualified online and bricks-and-mortar retailers interested in increasing online sales of home improvement products through collaboration and partnerships. Participating companies included BuildDirect, eBay, Supplyhog.com and FireflyBuys.com.
The event, which was held at the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel in Orlando, Fla., offered an intimate environment for vendors and retailers alike to learn from each other and network to develop online strategies for mutual growth.
“The attendees represented a cross section of retailers,suppliers and technology companies with one common goal—to grow home improvement online sales,” says Sonya Ruff Jarvis, founder of the Summit. “The delegates arrived with an open mind, willing to gain e-commerce intelligence and share insights to help each other improve their online sales strategies.”
The summit included a day of presentations by leading e-commerce companies, with a keynote by Alyssa Steele, divisional merchandise manager for home and garden at eBay.
Retailers were looking for ways to meet the next challenge of online retailing, including the move by manufacturers to sell direct on Amazon or other e-commerce market places. Vendors in the room expressed their interest in growing their sales with legitimate sellers such as eBay and in finding strong, branded products that can be sold on an exclusive or proprietary basis.
Information sessions were presented against the backdrop of some harsh competitive realities. The online marketplace is dominated by Amazon, while Home Depot and Lowe’s combined could account for $40 billion in online sales within just a few years.
Elizabeth Ragone of Lenox, an online seller of dinnerware and kitchenwares, talked about the importance of telling stories to help sell products. She made the point that content is key for communicating not just the benefits and features of a company, but for reflecting the cultural values of the company itself. “Create an experience,” she urged delegates.
Steele from eBay explained that a new generation of homeowners are making families and looking for home improvement and décor products. They will need to be catered to, she noted.
The underlying concern among delegates was the need for the traditional hardware and home improvement industry to catch up to the realities of online selling. That includes large products such as flooring, roofing, and other building materials, something that companies like BuildDirect specialize in.
While many companies are looking for ways to enter the online world, those companies living entirely in that space are dealing with new and different challenges from traditional retailers. Those challenges can include search engine optimization, product curation, and fluid pricing policies. Bridging the differences between the two sides was the mandate of the Home Improvement eRetailer Summit.
The central issues for hardlines and home improvement companies venturing into the online world was best summed up during a presentation on day two by Steve Greenspon, CEO of Honey Can Do, a storage and organization company that sells almost exclusively online.“The conversation we have with bricks-and-mortar retailers that don’t ‘get it’ are completely different from the conversations we have with retailers that are strictly digital.”
About the Home Improvement eRetailer Summit
The Home Improvement eRetailer Summit connects manufacturers, distributors,and retailers who are interested in increasing online sales of home improvement products through collaboration and partnerships.This conference is designed to help educate the home improvement distribution channel about the online retail industry. It will be held November 7 to 9, 2018, in Chicago, IL.For more information, please contact Sonya Ruff Jarvis: or 347-886-0275.
Cutline 1:
The second annual Home Improvement eRetailer Summit offered an intimate environment for vendors and retailers to develop and improve their e-commerce strategies.
Cutline 2:
Alyssa Steele, Divisional Merchandise Manager for Home and Garden at eBay, explained to conference delegates that a new generation of homeowners are making families and looking for home improvement and décor products.