How Lowe’s uses customization, content in the ecommerce journey

Shopping should be easy, according to Ryan Fagan, vice president of digital at Lowe’s. “Our job is to guide them through their shopping trip as seamlessly as possible.”

Ahead of speaking at at this year’s CommerceNext event on June 11-13, Fagan shared three ways Lowe’s is enhancing its ecommerce experience, from tailoring the digital experience to specific customer segments to surfacing other relevant products throughout the shopping journey.

Customize based on customer needs: Because Lowe’s serves both professional contractors and home improvement novices, it needs to customize the shopping experience to both audiences at the same time.

• For pros such as contractors and builders, that means having the right product, in-stock, with fast delivery.
• “The pro customer knows what they need and the quantity they need it in, so we need to help them achieve that in as few clicks as possible,” said Fagan.

But customers who are not as versed in home improvement may need help identifying what they need.

“Content is a core part of our strategy,” said Fagan. “Whether through video content on our site or YouTube, it engages consumers at their moment of inspiration.”

Help to narrow down the choices: To help consumers navigate through hundreds of choices, Lowe’s uses guided selling modules, which ask shoppers questions about what they’re looking for, what projects they’re working on, or what styles they prefer.

• “We’re trying to mirror the consultative type of selling that happens in store,” said Fagan. “We’re taking a customer down a linear progression, from picking the product to deciding whether or not it needs to be installed professionally.”
• This guided experience helps encourage repeat purchases, said Fagan.
• “That’s where we see the repeat frequency. They come back to shop for their bathroom or outdoor space, because it felt easy the first time.”

Encourage discovery without disrupting the purchase process: After a customer identifies the item they need, Lowe’s surfaces relevant products online.

“The digital ecosystem gives us a great opportunity to bundle products and make the experience valuable to customers,” said Fagan. “You’ve loaded an item in your cart, and we show you other items that are frequently bought with it. After purchase, we re-engage you with a ‘Did you forget anything?’ message.”

But make sure the customer doesn’t feel overwhelmed or bombarded with extras they don’t need.

“We never want it to be so overt that we’ve stopped your purchase progression,” said Fagan.

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