Hardware and Lumber integrates

• April 29 2020
• http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-observer-corporate-listing/hardware-and-lumber-integrates_192799

Construction retailer Hardware and Lumber (H&L) last week announced the integration of WhatsApp messaging services into its sales channel as a response to serving customers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We're always focused on the best ways to engage, reward, and support customers, but that has been amplified in recent weeks when COVID-19 brought changes to the ways people interact in daily life.

“Our new WhatsApp ordering process brings the network of the ten H&L Rapid True Value and five H&L Agro stores right into the hands of our customers,” said Marcus Richards, managing director of H&L Limited.

The company's use of the global communication service was led by local licensee CGR Communications and carries a flexible artificial intelligence platform and engine that allows for an automated interface customised for H&L.

Once a WhatsApp message is sent “a customer is almost immediately connected to the branch of their choice to facilitate their order. They can then either schedule curbside pick-up or have it delivered to their door on the same day in most cases,” a release said.

In addition to the use of WhatsApp, the company has also revamped its website, which now features more than 2,000 of the top-selling products of H&L Rapid True Value, and H&L Agro.

“These past few weeks have been challenging, but we have also been agile in finding ways to serve customers. There is little doubt that COVID-19 will change the face of retail. There is a surge in e-commerce that is not only driven by our existing customers but also by first-time visitors who are trying to figure out how to get on with their lives, farms, and businesses despite the required restrictions,” Richards said.