Site Looks to Tap Home Improvement E-Market
A new online comparison shopping site for the home improvement industry is hoping it can tap into the $700 billion home improvement market.
Only about 3% of the sizable market is now online. BuildersSquare.com aims to help people get information on products and assist them in hiring contractors to do the job, says director of marketing and co-founder Christal Condon.
The firm is trying to distinguish itself from other price comparison sites by concentrating on a single area and supplying content to help users make intelligent purchasing decisions, she says.
So far, the company has lined up about 115 supplier companies nationwide in such areas as appliances, lighting, bath and kitchen, tools, outdoor living and home safety.
BuildersSquare is offering them the chance to participate in targeted online advertising opportunities via multimedia, text and banner ad campaigns.
The Edison, NJ company is relying on search engine marketing through Google and Yahoo to promote itself to end-users, says Condon.
In addition, the site offers online coupon postings, how-to and buying guides, product demonstrations, manuals and more. The contractor database offers ratings of local regional service providers, and a blog called The Square Deal is aimed at keeping users up to date on breaking news and trends in the home improvement industry.
Before BuildersSquare, Condon worked for an online retailer of home décor products, which helped give her the idea to co-found the company.
She was loath to project revenue for the next year but did cite market research studies indicating that the online buying population is growing at a rate of about 7% through 2009 and that the home improvement market is outpacing overall e-commerce with an expected 32% growth rate during that time.
