Paint and decorative company Modern Masters Inc. offers products for the home furnishings and hardware industry and the brand recently made its inventory available for purchase on its branded PC and mobile Web sites.

Modern Masters partnered with Shopatron to launch an ecommerce store that lets customers shop online and via their mobile devices and still get the benefits of in-store service from local dealers.

“Our specialty paint products are sold through independent paint dealers and we do not sell through any big-box stores such as Home Depot and Lowe’s,” said Monique LeMare-Rogers, director of marketing and planning at Modern Masters, Sun Valley, CA. “We also do not sell direct to the consumer.

“During this tough economic time, and because most of our products come pretinted, many stores do not carry the full range of products, colors and sizes and we receive customer complaints on the availability,” she said. “Shopatron has given us a solution to this problem.

“It enables our consumers to find the products in the sizes they need and it enable us to still partner with our dealers and not sell around them.”

Specializing in products for the decorative painting, faux finishing and the theme/entertainment markets, Modern Masters claims to be the No. 1 supplier of high-end decorative and specialty water-base products worldwide.

Its high-end metallic paints, Venetian plasters and other specialty finishes have been used at properties worldwide, including the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Buckingham Palace and the Plaza Hotel in NYC.

Shopatron provides a retail-integrated ecommerce platform for branded manufacturers, distributors and multichannel retailers.

With Shopatron’s platform for branded manufacturers, Coex Freedom, brands sell on their PC and mobile Web sites and send orders to their retail partners for fulfillment.

Shopatron’s platform for multichannel retailers, Coex Private, let them fulfill orders from all inventory centers, including both retail stores and distribution centers.

Shopatron’s distributed order management model also enables in-store pickup and ship-to-store capabilities that drive traffic into bricks-and-mortar locations for additional services and add-on sales.

Shopatron clients include brands such as Callaway Golf, Suzuki, Polaroid, Mizuno, Ducati, JL Audio, American Tire Distributors and Sport Chalet.

Modern Masters lets customers Shopatron till they drop
Shopatron’s ecommerce system lets shoppers browse Modern Masters’ extensive online paint and decorative products catalogue and make purchases using any Web-enabled handset.

Orders are then processed through Shopatron, where they are assigned to local dealers for fulfillment through a wide range of delivery options.

As a specialist in retail-integrated ecommerce, Shopatron offers several options for in-store pickup service, including a ship-to-store option designed for specialty paint and decorative finish products that may not be in stock at local dealers.

“Eighty-five percent of all Modern Masters purchases are influenced by a woman between the ages of 25 and 55,” Ms. LeMare-Rogers said. :They either purchase and use the product or they specify the product or color to be used.”

Ms. LeMare-Rogers said that Modern Masters’ retail-integrated mobile commerce site lets its customers select from a wide range of specialized products in the sizes and colors they are looking for without sacrificing personalized, local service.

The mobile site gives customers the option of quick delivery to their home or place of business from their local participating dealer.

Or customers can opt for in-store pick-up when available, since 40 percent of online customers select this option when offered, according to studies by Forrester Research.

Modern Masters’ Shopatron store and current catalog are available at http://shop.modernmasters.com.

“Shopatron has solved the issue of product unavailability to our consumers,” Ms. LeMare-Rogers said. “We anticipate our sales volume to increase and thus our bottom line as well because of Shopatron.

“We expect to see more gallon sizes ordered, which will increase our bottom line,” she said. “However, since we will not be selling direct to the consumer, our margins will not increase.”

Final Take
Dan Butcher, associate editor, Mobile Commerce Daily