Power Mower SalesCompetitive Edge in E-Commerce

Company Overview

For decades, Power Mower Sales operated strictly as a lawn and garden center. Homeowners, commercial landscapers and municipalities alike relied on the family-owned Miami company for its extensive collection of lawn mowers, equipment, parts and accessories. It was already one of the Southeast’s largest dealers of leading brands and had a very loyal following when owners decided to bring in an additional revenue stream with Polaris ATVs and RANGERS. 

To say that decision was a hit would be an understatement. The company was really growing now, and leaders were ready to expand even more. So they decided to build an e-commerce website and start selling online. 

Everything was going smoothly — until Power Mower Sales started looking into marketplaces and search engines. That’s when things started to get complicated.

The Situation

As the Power Mower Sales team began to evaluate its options for reaching more consumers online, top-performing channels like Amazon, eBay and Facebook topped the list. But first, the team wanted to list products on Google. Millions of consumers turn to Google Shopping to discover new products and find the best deals every day, which made it a great option for getting Power Mower products in front of more buyers.

But when the team dug a little deeper into the inner workings of Google Shopping and other e-commerce channels, it quickly became clear that managing multiple platforms would not be like launching an online store. While the payoff had the potential to be big, getting there would require a significant investment of time and resources for setup and maintenance.

“It’s very difficult to manage multiple marketplaces all at once,” explains Web Team Supervisor Vicky Palomo.

If she wanted to make this endeavor a successful one, Palomo knew she’d need to master a wide range of e-commerce activities, from advertising to inventory management to fast, affordable fulfillment.

Thankfully, coming up with a solution was easy.

The Solution

Sure, getting started with Google’s Merchant Center is simple enough: You create an account, upload your products and choose which retail programs you’d like to participate in. But Power Mower Sales understood from the start that there would be a whole lot more than meets the eye. 

What happens if the product data feed isn’t mapped correctly? How does one go about creating listings that actually compel people to buy? Is there a way to stand out amid a sea of competitors?

Palomo and her colleagues weren’t about to answer these questions on their own. So they started with the ChannelAdvisor e-commerce platform first and then used it as mission control for managing Google Shopping.

“The great thing about ChannelAdvisor is [that] it’s basically a hub,” explained Palomo. “You can have 10 to 15 different marketplaces. Everything is managed in one place and it makes it much simpler. You create the ad one time, map it and you’re set.”

Director of Operations Gus Pineda agrees: “We’ve been pleasantly surprised because it’s very robust. There’s a lot of backend support, which has been great.”

The Results

“Almost immediately upon launching, we saw results,” says Pineda. 

The day Power Mower Sales launched on Google Shopping, the company had three big sales within half an hour.

So… would Pineda recommend ChannelAdvisor to other companies in similar situations?

Here’s what he had to say about that:

“Without ChannelAdvisor, I think medium-based businesses would have a very difficult time in the market. Our business will be able to grow along with ChannelAdvisor because [the company] is forward-thinking. We’re very happy to be part of this team.”