In today's digital age, it's more important than ever for flooring retailers to stay on top of the latest digital trends.

Trends like augmented reality product visualization and e-commerce sample ordering are shaping the way consumers shop for flooring and are crucial for retailers to be aware of to stay ahead of the competition. But, these new features and functionalities are useless if you don’t know who or where your customers are.

To help flooring retailers find more customers in 2023, Todd Saunders presented his Year-in-Review webinar, where he highlighted key insights and trends retailers should know about.

Check it out 👇

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But, if you don’t have 30 mins to watch the webinar, read this blog post to give your store an opportunity to find more customers, save money, and drive more sales. Let’s get to it! 

1. 35-44 Year-Olds Are Most Interested In Flooring

As you develop and execute your sales and marketing plans for 2023, make sure you are advertising where 35-44 year-olds spend their time (Hint: Facebook is the most popular social media for that demographic).

2. There Is No Significant Difference In Flooring Interest Between Genders

Make sure that your store’s strategy speaks to all genders. Historically, manufacturers use “her” or “she” when they talk about the decision maker, and while that might still be true, but the data tells a different story from who is interested and reaching out online.

3. The Most Interested Customers Are Actively Shopping For Their homes and Gardens

We know - not too surprising - but still helpful to know. Beyond homes and gardens, these audiences are extremely interested in cooking and fine dining. Retailers should use this information to customize their messaging, promotions, and sales conversations. We’ve heard success stories of retailers who’ve offered gift cards to local restaurants in their community as a sales promotion.

4. Catalog Pages Are The Top-Performing Drivers For SEO

What does that mean in plain English? All those pages from your catalog are super important to help customers find your store and if you are a Broadlume client, we’ve got you covered. But, if your catalog is a pop-up or doesn’t live on your website, this is a MAJOR red flag. (And if this still isn’t clear, we’d be happy to show you the impact of a product catalog on your website’s performance. Just give us a shout!).

5. Mobile Devices Continue To Be Shoppers' Favorite Devices

Most consumers are searching, clicking, and reaching out on mobile devices, but browsing on tablets has increased while leads have decreased, which totally makes sense (For example, I like to search on my tablet to learn more about a company, but when I need to call, I use my phone). What does this mean for you? Make sure your website is mobile and tablet optimized. You can check this by simply going to your website on your phone.

6. More Competition = Higher Costs in Google Search

From a cost performance, we’ve seen a significant uptick in Google Search costs by 25%, so don’t be surprised if you are getting less bang for your buck right now…everyone is feeling it. What can you do? Trust your performance to a digital advertising professional and fire your nephew who took one certification course in college.

7. Mondays Are By Far The Best Day For Leads And Performance

With this tasty insight, retailers should consider posting to their social channels early and consistently, and multiple times, on Mondays to capture this opportunity. Create content that highlights different aspects of your business and watch the leads pour in.

8. Shoppers Are Looking For Flexible Payment Options

There's been a significant increase in customer interest in financing and alternative payment options. We all know there’s something funky going on with the economy and customers are looking for easy options to finance their beautiful floors. We’ve seen a huge uptick in searches containing: "use financing", "pay with financing", "how to pay online", and "how to pay with check", last year.

9. Take Advantage Of No-Cost Financing

To help you take advantage of this insight and drive more sales, Todd announced that we’ve officially launched Broadlume Consumer Financing. This service is 100% free with no cost to you or transaction fees. By offering friendly consumer financing options, a sentence that few have ever written, directly on your flooring store’s website, you’re giving your customers an opportunity to purchase their dream floors without paying for it all upfront.

10. Introducing Payment Processing

As mentioned in #8, we’ve seen a huge uptick in “how to pay online” and payment processing searches. To meet this growing demand for online/alternative payment methods, we’re excited to introduce Broadlume Payment Processing. Thismodern solution was developed for flooring retailers and features: clear and transparent pricing, integration into your website and business management software, and the ability to accept payments online and via text. By enrolling in payment processing, you’ll be able to save on transaction fees and spend less time chasing down customers for payment.

Conclusion

We hope these insights help guide you and set your business up for success in 2023. 

If there are any questions you have from this article, please feel free to click the “Text Us” button on the bottom right of the website or signup for more information on these new products and services.