Dive Brief:
- Adding another perk for members, Lowe’s has launched its Digital Home Platform, a free loyalty-member exclusive hub where customers can review their warranties and manuals, the retailer announced Monday.
- Customers can also access personalized information, including maintenance suggestions, how-to content, recommended subscriptions and replacement parts and other product information. To start, the platform will focus on home appliances, but it will later expand to include other parts of the home.
- Shoppers who’ve purchased major appliances using their MyLowe’s Rewards account within the past five years will see their products automatically within their profile. They can also manually search for products and view information, the company said.
Dive Insight:
The launch of Lowe’s Digital Home Platform builds upon the retailer’s broader personalization efforts. The company launched MyLowe’s Rewards at the start of the year in select markets, then rolled it out nationwide in the spring. The program is a way to engage shoppers with perks and benefits while building loyalty.
The retailer’s new platform is a way to help those MyLowe’s Rewards members gain support for their home appliance purchases.
“With our new digital home platform, we’re now making it easier to manage and maintain your home’s maintenance needs, starting with appliances,” Jen Wilson, Lowe's chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “Lowe’s is all about being a helpful partner and through the digital home platform, we can serve up the exact filter customers need for their refrigerator at the time it needs replaced.”
Wilson was promoted to the role of chief marketing officer in June, where she oversees the company’s brand and product marketing, loyalty and personalization strategies, among other tasks. She has been with the retailer since 2006.
In its most recent quarter, Lowe’s reported net sales fell 5.5% year over year to $23.6 billion, with comps down 5.1%. Though pro sales in Q2 were stronger, the retailer said the comp decline was driven by softness in DIY and bad weather.
Electronics and appliances sales have been under pressure for a large portion of the year. In September, those sales dropped 6.6% year over year, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau.
