With their success in-store, Ace knew that a strong eCommerce experience would require a way to bridge the digital / physical divide.
Ace Hardware was founded nearly 100 years ago, in 1924, as “Ace Stores”, named after the ace fighter pilots of WWI. The company became the largest retailer owned cooperative in 1973, and now has over 5200 locations in 60 countries, exceeding $9B in sales in 2022.
Ace’s focus on convenience and service means a much larger brick and mortar footprint than its big box rivals, boasting more storefronts than Home Depot, Lowe’s and Menards combined. This investment has paid off, with Ace consistently being rated higher than rivals for customer satisfaction. The opportunity cost of this strategy is a reduced focus on ecommerce, when compared to competitors.
Ace had long seen investment in digital as an opportunity for growth, which the COVID-19 pandemic forced into overdrive. Whereas the convenience of store locations gave Ace a significant advantage in 'buy online and pick up in store' transactions, especially for larger items like grills, there was a real opportunity to bridge the digital - physical divide with virtual experiences on PDPs.
Ace had great success in-store; so in order to have an equally strong eCommerce experience, they knew it would require technology that bridges the digital / physical divide.
Ace Hardware was founded nearly 100 years ago, in 1924, as “Ace Stores”, named after the ace fighter pilots of WWI. The company became the largest retailer owned cooperative in 1973, and now has over 5200 locations in 60 countries, exceeding $9B in sales in 2022.
Ace’s focus on convenience and service means a much larger brick and mortar footprint than its big box rivals, boasting more storefronts than Home Depot, Lowe’s and Menards combined. This investment has paid off, with Ace consistently being rated higher than rivals for customer satisfaction. The opportunity cost of this strategy is a reduced focus on ecommerce, when compared to competitors.
Ace had long seen investment in digital as an opportunity for growth, which the COVID-19 pandemic forced into overdrive. Whereas the convenience of store locations gave Ace a significant advantage in 'buy online and pick up in store' transactions, especially for larger items like grills, there was a real opportunity to bridge the digital - physical divide with virtual experiences on PDPs.
Competitors were providing some 3D content on sites, but implementations had inconsistent quality and were not very user-friendly.
By partnering with Epigraph, Ace saw an opportunity to leapfrog them by providing best-in-class 3D experiences, in multiple, engaging formats, to delight and inform users, thereby capturing more sales. This strategy began with a rollout of 3D and augmented reality experiences, then expanded to 3D product tours and configurators, across a range of brands and products.
Test out Floyd’s Augmented Reality experience! Using your smartphone's camera, scan the QR code and follow the prompts to launch the AR experience.
