Putting the Improvement (of Product Content) Into Home Improvement
Transforming over 113,021 home improvement products for one of the leading online retailers was a monumental task undertaken in weeks rather than years. But that's exactly what we achieved for top brands in the "DIY" and "Hardware and Tools" categories for the number one brick-and-mortar retailer in the U.S.A. Top brands were searching for a way to positively affect growth and maintain current sales figures as the market changes. As champions of DIY– it feels like outsourcing catalog needs is the exact opposite of what you stand for. But building a site strategy is like fixing your toilet with no experience. Sure, give it a try, but when the bathroom floods, you’ll have to call the plumber.
The Challenges
Rapid Market Evolution
The online home improvement market faces challenges following a return of growth in 2024. While the market slowed post-COVID-19, it has since begun to rise past 2021 levels. As home prices have started to plateau, and inflation has slowed, more and more consumers are looking to start home projects, while saving money in the DIY market rather than always relying on contractors.
Some categories have been resistant while others have seen an explosion of growth. Categories like tools are having a renaissance online due to the availability of product specifications (when available). The modern DIYer is looking for convenience and a good deal, and appreciates the ease of comparison that online shopping provides over a traditional brick-and-mortar experience.
It’s important for retailers and brands to update lucrative categories and products to match the increase in demand. As the housing market continues to settle, projects that have been put off due to high costs are getting underway which is a lucrative opportunity to capture sales and market share. It’s important that stakeholders capture this shift in market priorities before trends settle into long time norms.
Artificial Intelligence & Retailer Compliance:
As retailers increasingly use AI to refine their search algorithms, keeping products visible and relevant has become a difficult task. It's imperative for brands to keep their product attributes up-to-date and in line with retailer guidelines to ensure higher ranking and visibility. Always remember, search engines run on keywords. Without them, your listing stays hidden.
Complex Domain Knowledge
Retailers and brands within the DIY and Home Improvement categories have difficulty updating niche product content due to the complexity of the products and the specifications that they must adhere to. Most consumers have a basic understanding of electronics and their uses, food products, and consumables, but lack knowledge about tolerances of tools, and the structural integrity of construction material.
Complex product content requires thousands of hours by specialized copywriters that either have domain knowledge, or consult with those that do. This creates a prohibitive burden on large brands and retailers that want to update entire catalogs to compete online.
Solution: AI Attribute Enrichment with AdVonAI
We employed AdVonAI to optimize over 113,021 products, focusing on attributes that resonate most with home improvement enthusiasts. This included enhancing detailed specifications, features, and benefits to align with consumer preferences and search trends.
AI-enabled attribute enrichment allowed the brands and retailer to improve niche product details across the entire catalog, without the cost or time associated with experts detailing every feature of the product. By utilizing our AI system, along with the input of industry experts, AdVon AI was able to update the entire catalog in a period of 3 weeks, rather than an industry standard expected time of over a year for a catalog of this size. Industry expert input and human-led machine learning allowed quality DIY content to be applied quickly without compromising quality.
Sales
The impact on sales was significant, underscoring the effectiveness of targeted attribute enrichment in capturing market share in a competitive landscape.
- The DIY category saw a 13% boost in sales within 30 days post-enrichment during a non-peak season
- “Hardware and Tools” category experience a 3% increase in daily sales just 30 days after deployment
- After 60 days, both DIY + Hardware saw more than $2,000,000 in additional revenue across the catalog of 113,021 products
Discoverability
Product discoverability saw remarkable improvements across both categories. This led to more visibility in search for new keywords, top 10 placements, and paid placement eligibility.
- One category saw nearly 90% increase in top 10 placements putting a large amount of the catalog on the first page for relevant searches
- “Hardware and Tools” saw 9% increase in new search placements, surfacing for new terms
- “DIY” had over 1,200 products become eligible for paid placements, increasing 43% from previously
Retailer Compliance
Adherence to retailer guidelines is crucial for product visibility. By utilizing AdVonAI, we ensured that each product was optimized for retailer algorithms, leading to a significant increase in compliance scores.
- The "DIY" category saw a staggering 1,817.7% increase in items scoring above 90% in quality as defined by the retailer
- The “Hardware and Tools” category had over 3,500 additional products reach a 90% retailer quality score or higher
The use of AdVonAI to enrich home improvement product attributes was a game-changer, resulting in improvements in sales, discoverability, and retailer compliance. By adapting and enhancing product listings to meet consumer and retailer demands, brands were able to thrive in a highly competitive market.
Interested in achieving similar results for your home improvement brand? AdVonAI offers tailored solutions to help you stay ahead in the industry. Book a demo today to learn how you can enhance your product offerings and drive sales.
The Numbers
first-time search placements
more compliant with retailer guidelines
sales lift in 30 days
Solutions Used
Attribute Enrichment
Product attributes are, by definition, the defining feature of products. When consumers are searching, they do so by attributes. Size, weight, durability, number of pieces, etc. These are what consumers use to find products, whether through organic search, or through filtering on an online retailer. AdVon uses AI and human-in-the-loop verification to make sure that all your data is utilized so that the most products meets the most purchasers.
PDP Content Enhancement
Enhance visibility and searchability of category specific search. Lead high intent buyers into longtail opportunities that lead to the products they want, the first time. In years past it was often too time intensive and expensive to build campaigns with this level of detail. AdVon optimizes whole catalogs in days not weeks or years.
Optimizing category pages and individual product listings improves search engine rankings, making it easier for customers to discover products. Capture "new-to-brand" customers, as well as increasing repeat purchases with content reaches your target audience.
Catalog Audit
An Advon catalog audit pulls out all the information needed to diagnose and treat your catalog. We look at the number of missing attributes, and taxonomy shortcomings to determine where consumers are falling through the cracks. Don't lose more customers due to bad data.
Flywheel Digital
Don’t let your marketplace get lost in the competition.
Create happy shoppers. Our solution ruthlessly removes content complexity in your marketplace so you don't have to. Unlocking value for retailers and brands on the digital shelf.