ProStores Helps Small Furniture Retailer Do Big Business Online
Yahoo! didn't offer [Google Base Feed], and products took hours to load. We also looked at Amazon WebStore but it was really complicated—you had to know HTML. ProStores is much more simple.
Kellie Nguyen, Co-owner of Artistic Gallery Home Store
A Well-Framed Solution
Paul Nguyen opened Artistic Gallery Home Store in Westminster, California nearly 20 years ago to sell frames, mirrors, wall art, and other home accessories. Even though his retail store was well established, it only allowed him to reach local customers, so he and his wife Kellie Nguyen started selling on eBay in 2007.
Two years later, they realized they could expand their inventory even further by opening a ProStores web store. "We decided to add furniture," says Kellie, "so that our customers could buy a mirror and sofa and everything they could possibly think of to complete a room. We're able to carry more brands and manufacturers than on eBay or at our retail store and sell products on a local and national level and to Canada."
ProStores Beats out the Competition
The couple wasn't always so optimistic. When they first decided to open an online store, they tried Yahoo! Merchant Solutions for a year and only garnered about five sales. Now they get double that number in just one week, thanks to ProStores' Google base feed. "I just went into ProStores, clicked under Marketing, and uploaded my product feed over to Google. A week later I noticed my product coming up in search results," explains Kellie. "Yahoo! didn't offer that, and products took hours to load. We also looked at Amazon WebStore but it was really complicated—you had to know HTML. ProStores is much more simple."
Since Kellie admittedly "didn't know anything about running a business online," ProStores' Discussion Board, Learning Center, and blog were key to getting her store up and running. "All the resources to market my web store were already there. Whenever I needed help I could go straight to the Discussion Board and ask my questions. And the info is easy to use and well laid-out—it doesn't look like it's going to attack you."
As AG Home Store grew, Paul and Kellie realized that they wanted to revamp their look, so they put their web storefront in the capable hands of ProStores certified designer IntuitSolutions. "We wanted AG Home Store to stand out, but we didn't have the time to customize it ourselves," Kellie recalls. "IntuitSolutions listened to our needs while implementing every aspect of our site development. I absolutely love the design, and the pricing was wonderful. They delivered the item in time and as promised."
Kellie also likes to use ProStores' add-on tools like Squidoo and Constant Contact. "PowerReviews is very easy to set up, and our customers love reading reviews. It motivates them to buy our products." ProStores' store promotions feature also helps AG Home Store motivate customers. "We always offer buyers a promotional code that we generate on ProStores. The five percent discount brings in a lot of repeat customers."
Freedom for the Future
ProStores' competitive pricing has given Kellie and Paul the freedom to grow their store. "We can use what we save on fees to give shoppers free shipping on everything we sell," says Kellie. Since shipping on furniture can be so prohibitive, the policy has helped AG Home Store grow its clientele and improve conversion rate.
Without listings fees, the couple can also expand their inventory worry-free. AG Home Store now offers 1,500 products, and since opening its web store a year ago, annual sales have increased 50 percent for the entire business. By next year, Paul and Kellie plan to double their inventory and open a second web store that sells only children's furniture.
ProStores has allowed the couple to run a small business that looks like a big company. It has especially helped Kellie, who takes care of listings and marketing while being a stay-at-home mom, create a life that she never thought possible. "It's easy to get overwhelmed, but with ProStores, I'm able to balance everything. I can watch my kids at the same time and still be out there in the workforce. ProStores is such a powerful tool that put our store on the map. Our products are now showing up in Google search engines, alongside major established retailers, which is awesome," beams Kellie.
Other featured success stories
