Overview:
The Home Depot partnered with Image Manufacturing Group and SapientNitro to develop the Appliance Finder virtual inventory solution.
While developing an attractive user interface and intelligent experience, SapientNitro integrated with The Home Depot’s merchandising and inventory management system to make 100% of their inventory available to the customer. In fact, they developed a solution whereby the customer could find, choose, and purchase the product on the spot.
Image Manufacturing Group was chosen to manufacture a brand-consistent kiosk with these requirements:
- Design an attractive solution that gets the attention of the customer
- Engineer and choose materials that are rugged and able to withstand the movement of the environment
- Neatly integrate the components necessary for the consumer transaction
- Package and deliver the kiosk to each store as required
Image Manufacturing Group and SapientNitro were responsible for the strategy, conceptualization, design, engineering, technology integration, fabrication, and delivery of the Appliance Finder kiosk.
Objectives:
A customer comes into your retail store with the intent of purchasing a new appliance. The customer has potentially done some online research, identified the brand and features they prefer, and knows what color and finish they want. It’s a big purchase, so they come to the store rather than purchasing the appliance online only to browse through the appliance department and not find what they wanted.
It’s not a stretch for this to happen considering that the store has a limited inventory footprint. In The Home Depot’s case, each store can only carry about 5% of the appliances they have the ability to sell. So how does The Home Depot keep the customer engaged and increase the potential of the transaction never leaving the store? How does the customer have the best experience possible while shopping for an appliance? How does The Home Depot best equip its floor personnel with the information they need to intelligently engage the customer and close the sale?
Product Description & Timeframe:
October 2012: SapientNitro engaged Image Manufacturing Group to collaborate on the design concepts and manufacturing procedures in regard to multiple designs
November 2012: SapientNitro and Image Manufacturing Group made a combined presentation to The Home Depot regarding design options/signed a master service agreement with The Home Depot
November 2012: Image Manufacturing Group delivered a mockup of the final design
December 7, 2012: The Home Depot placed their first order request of 132 Appliance Finder kiosks to Image Manufacturing Group
December 2012: Image Manufacturing Group delivered its first working prototype to The Home Depot
February/March 2013: Image Manufacturing Group delivered the first 132 Appliance Finder kiosks to the requested store locations for installation (pilot program)
September 2013: Image Manufacturing Group delivered an addition order of 138 Appliance Finder kiosks to the requested destinations for installation
The project is still live, a timing of the next store shipment is anticipated Q1/Q2 2014
Results:
The program rollout began in a sample of 130 stores and expanded to triple the sample size. Early results are in, and The Home Depot claims a 10% uptick in appliance sales in stores featuring the Appliance Finder.
Customers who leverage the kiosk for themselves are often introverts looking for their own solutions; however, associates for The Home Depot have learned to utilize the kiosk as a sales tool, walking customers through the user interface and allowing them to experience the feature photos and videos pertaining to each product.
