From groceries and clothes to furniture and even cars, it seems like there’s no limit to what you can buy online these days—so much so that an online shopping experience is what many customers now expect. According to a recent survey from Forbes, about 20% of all retail purchases are expected to take place online in 2024, and that number is only expected to rise. With that in mind, many LBM dealers are utilizing—or considering—e-commerce for their businesses.
Responses from lumberyards, full-line building material dealers, and specialty dealers/distributors:
“E-commerce can be daunting, especially if you are not familiar with how it works. Although the buying groups can be expensive, it’s important to consider the value of knowledge that you gain by choosing an established company to help you create a well-functioning website. If you don’t have expertise in mechanics, you wouldn’t try to fix your car on your own, right? You would call in a professional. That’s what you get by choosing an established company to help you with your e-commerce website. You could also consider hiring someone to create a website for you, but that still means you are committing to another company. The beauty of e-commerce is that it’s measurable, so you can try it out for a while and see what results you get.”
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“Sit down with your buying group and have them explain the benefits of e-commerce until you fully understand; they should have several options.”
“It depends on what size of business area you have and how much online or additional business you can handle.”
“100% agree. These are questions that we have as well.”
“We went through the same thing in 2018 and started looking at new ERP options that fulfilled our currents needs and supported our 10-year vision.”
“You have no option. Try to find something that integrates with your ERP.”
“Trust the experts, find a good partner by talking to other LBM dealers who have one. Identify your internal expert. Look at the ecommerce as part of your advertising budget.”
“Start with your POS provider. It has to integrate with POS or won’t be successful. Negotiate hard on costs. It’s expensive and will not pay for itself right away.”
“[Start] slow & steady.”
“Reach out to companies in your network that started to go with ecommerce and interview them on the platform they use—pros and cons, etc.”
“If you think e-commerce will bring you greater share of wallet and/or more market share then, yes, you need to commit. It’s a business decision first. Then a technology question. The market has plenty of e-commerce talent looking for new homes.”
“If you start first with a robust POS system on all stocked items, assign a special class to represent non-stocked items. Buying groups have suggested retails. Go with those until you can program in your own retails based on whatever method you use to price (Target GM, or comps, for example.)”
“[Be prepared to] get a few broken eggs.”
“Doing it ourselves has been unsuccessful. Should have partnered with someone successful.”
“We are wrestling with the same decision(s). While there are multiple platforms that offer a piece of e-commerce (i.e. customer account access, products/pricing online, live chat, etc.), it doesn’t always mean your ERP or other systems will play nice. That said, I feel like it needs to be something that we don’t rush into … even though we get plenty of sales calls pushing for it!”
“Doing it yourself is not the way to go. Now co-ops or services have it figured out. [It’s a] mistake not using them.”
“I cannot think that without multiple stores in multiple cities and broad brand recognition, e-commerce will succeed.”
“Know what parts are important to you: Buy online/pickup in store, pricing online only for hardware, pricing online for all stock items offered. Then, evaluate what company matches up with what you are looking for currently and also what your road map shows for future growth.”
“My previous business was all online. It is a difficult game that you always have to be on top of. Is there a reason you feel the need to be in it? Do you have the manpower to work in this space?”
“A lot of people, including some shareholders, think online marketing is very easy. I know for a fact the content and that skill set are very time-consuming.”
“Whether you start by adopting one of the “a la carte” options out there and slowly build up to full on e-commerce…or take as much time as you need with the ‘inclusive’ programs, doing your due diligence through lots of demos and Zoom calls to make sure you fully understand what you’re getting into…I think we have to make sure we don’t rush into it. Wish I had a better answer, but like I said, we’re in the same ring!”
“Well, we struggle as Amazon is so good at it. I would like to see a partnership between companies to form a company to compete with Amazon. Offer it at a low cost to all small businesses.”
“If you have a branded hardware store, like True Value or Do it Best, there might be an easy model to launch that side. Also need to factor in your POS software and determine if that limits your options.”
“Start Small, Scale Gradually: Instead of diving headfirst into a complex e-commerce program, consider starting small and gradually scaling up as you gain confidence and experience. Begin by setting up a basic online presence, such as a website or a presence on established e-commerce platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce.
Explore Low-Cost or Free Options: There are numerous low-cost or even free e-commerce solutions available that cater to small businesses. For example, you could leverage social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram to showcase your products and engage with customers without the need for a dedicated e-commerce website.
Consider DIY Solutions: Consider building your own e-commerce website using DIY website builders like Wix or Squarespace. While this approach requires more effort upfront, it provides greater flexibility and control over your online presence.
Focus on Customer Experience: Regardless of the e-commerce solution you choose, prioritize providing a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience for your customers. This includes optimizing your website for mobile devices, streamlining the checkout process, and offering responsive customer support.”
Responses from wholesale distributors, manufacturers and service providers:
“Your co-op’s mission is to leverage group purchasing power (volume) up channel, vis-a-vis the supply side (vendors). Here, the LBM dealer appears to be asking about “sell-side” e-commerce, looking down channel, to your customers. I’d suggest you start by asking your key customers what you could do to improve THEIR purchase efficiency/productivity (vs. your sales efficiency). Sales is always about meeting the needs of customers. Every market is local, every LBM dealer has their own customer mix, their own competitive environment, their own go-to-market strategy. Retail consumers may well benefit from a digital catalog. Pro yards, especially those serving big builders/general contractors, need to be digitally ready to work collaboratively with the builder’s software (the customer’s chosen e-commerce solution). Do your customers want to ‘browse’ or do they want fast and precise answers to their queries? E-commerce is about digitizing your supply chain, up-channel and down-channel. It’s more about efficiency and collaboration, less about flashy marketing.”
“We have decided that we do not want to enroll in e-commerce. We are a 2-step distributor covering eight states and business couldn’t be any better. Why rock the ship when it’s rolling steady?”
“It’s smart to enter slowly and to try to get a proof of concept before a full implementation. I think you could first learn from other dealers on their experience. Start asking your peers. Start poking around online for any comments and reviews. Start looking at other dealers’ sites for functionality that makes sense. Also, make sure that any new technology plays well with what you already have in place.”
“We feel your pain. We are in the same position. It’s overwhelming and we just don’t have the knowledge or the staff.”
“Only send emails when you have something to offer, and not every week! Don’t waste your customer’s time!”
“With the amount of tech-geared and marketing college graduates, you may find it beneficial to bring in a marketing department that focuses on building a website, and knows where to spend the money to get your platform off the ground. Then again, there are off-site companies that offer these services that do cost a good bit of money, but it is less headache than going through the employment process and not knowing what you are getting. Get references from these companies and do your research before diving into the first one, or the lowest price.”
“We know that it is something that we need to look into in the future, but we aren’t quite ready to start investigating just yet.”
“We are a month or two away from going live. We’re starting with a few hundred SKUs and slowly growing from there.”
“We have expanded special order SKU offerings significantly and adjusted retails to be aggressive. All stocked items are online with on-hand quantity.”
“We are looking at platforms that will be easy to work with and tie into our software.”
“We understand the lean towards e-commerce and being relevant in an everchanging digital world. While our market doesn’t have as big a demand for it, we do recognize that it would keep us in the ring with our big box competitors.”
“Our focus is local, pro builders. They make up 98% of our business. With our location and local population, e-commerce hasn’t made a ton of sense for us.”
“Our management is resistant to adopt new technologies. We are facing other companies that make the order process easier and more efficient. E-commerce provides the ease, efficiency and transparency that pros demand.”
“We need to get in the game, we just have to figure to all out. Where do
you start?”
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