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By: Richard Cazzo
Website: http://www.lamps-n-lighting.com
LAMPS PLUS, the nation's largest specialty lighting
chain, today announced its selection as a Top
50 Retailing Site in Internet Retailer's sixth-annual
"Best of the Web" ratings. This recognition
places LAMPS PLUS alongside such e-commerce pioneers
as Amazon.com, Dell, eBay and Lands' End, each
chosen for its groundbreaking approach to online
retailing.
Internet Retailer selected LAMPS PLUS in its
exclusive Top 50 rankings because of the lighting
chain's innovative multi-channel e-commerce strategy,
which is completely integrated with - and complementary
to - its bricks-and-mortar operations. Since launching
its e-commerce operations almost three years ago,
LAMPS PLUS has focused on leveraging the expertise
of its seasoned sales team to design its Website
and all the functionalities that it features.
As a result, www.LAMPSPLUS.com offers visitors
an online shopping experience that reflects the
same high level of quality and knowledgeable service
found at each of LAMPS PLUS' 42 superstores. LAMPS
PLUS CEO and owner, Dennis Swanson, commented,
"Since 2000 LAMPS PLUS has thrived on our
innovative approach to selling lighting online.
We've grown our site from an informational lighting
portal to a full-featured
e-commerce destination to the point that our Website
now generates ten percent of our overall sales.
Two-thirds of our online customers are from the
East Coast - even though all our stores are located
in the western U.S., so there's absolutely no
doubt that e-commerce is playing a tremendous
role in our company's growth."
For the online consumer, LAMPSPLUS.com features
a Web-enabled call center for live, immediate
assistance from experienced lighting associates,
as well as an intelligent search engine that allows
shoppers to easily find products according to
specific attributes, such as price range, style,
brand and finish, among its inventory of more
than 7,000 lighting products. LAMPSPLUS.com shoppers
can also take advantage of lighting project planners,
a growing library of design trends and tips, and
a unique 'build your own ceiling fan' and 'mix
& match table & floor lamp' application
- the first in a series of 'build your own' applications
planned by LAMPS PLUS.
Swanson continued, "In addition to boosting
the bottom line and creating visibility in new
markets, our e-commerce strategy has also significantly
affected the way we do business at our physical
stores. We're using what we learn online to improve
the shopping experience at our retail outlets,
and the results of our multi-channel strategy
have been extremely encouraging." All LAMPS
PLUS advertising - inserts, direct mail, newspaper
and television placements - refer shoppers to
its Web site, where they are exposed to the full
selection of LAMPS PLUS merchandise and can research
items before heading into stores.
Over the last year, LAMPS PLUS has brought e-commerce
directly into its stores with the addition of
Web-enabled information kiosks. The kiosks, which
provide the same comprehensive product selection
and convenient search capabilities found online,
have quickly become popular resources for customers
and lighting sales associates alike, offering
a convenient and quick way to find specific merchandise.
Further, sales associates can capture information
relating to customer purchases on individual employee
'homepages' stored in the kiosks. This information
can later be used to facilitate one-on-one direct
and email marketing campaigns to LAMPS PLUS' customers.
"LAMPS PLUS has created an online shopping
environment that effectively mimics the in-store
shopping experience and offers the same high-quality
service. This approach has proven key to LAMPSPLUS.com's
success, and has helped them emerge as one of
the top retailing sites on the Web today,"
said Kurt Peters, editor of Internet Retailer.
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