Leading online retailer of skateboards dramatically increases sales conversions with live chat
About Warehouse Skateboards
Based in Wilmington, North Carolina, Warehouse Skateboards is a premier online retailer of skateboards, skateboard accessories and skate clothing. The company helps skateboarders and their parents select or custom design the perfect skateboard. With over 10,000 skateboards, and 4,000 accessories to offer, Warehouse Skateboards is one of the largest online providers, serving customers throughout the United States.
The Challenge
Selling to the youth market has its charms and challenges. “For kids who love skating, you’re basically hooking them up with something that will be one of their most treasured possessions. These are kids who’ll practice a kick flip 5,000 times until they get it right,” explains Mike Duncan, founder and CEO of Warehouse Skateboards and an avid skateboarder himself. “They have skating heroes. They speak the language. It’s a huge part of their lives.”
But the challenges are real. “The youth market is really interested in getting free stuff. It doesn’t matter what it is, just a long as it’s free. Kids would call our customer service number asking for a sticker or a decal. They couldn’t buy anything because they don’t have a credit card; they need their parents for that. So they’d look at our site, and then call to see if we’re giving anything away.”
They can also be a bit starry-eyed. “They’d call to ask our phone reps, ‘Are you a pro? Do you know Tony Hawk? Have you ever met Bam Margera? What’s he like?’ They think that if you sell all the cool skate gear you must travel in the same circles as the pros,” said Mr. Duncan.
While it’s important to engage the end users of their boards, the costs of doing so via an 800 number were getting out of hand. “Our phone bills were eating up all of our profits. We needed to find a way to move those conversations away the phone” Mr. Duncan said.
“Within a week of implementing the software we realize we were doing everything all wrong. Our menu options were wrong; they didn’t reflect how people shopped. Our conversion paths were off, and we needed to fix them.”
Mike Duncan
Founder and CEO
Warehouse Skateboards