On this episode of the Independent Thinking Podcast, NMG employees Lauren Hylarides (Senior Marketing Manager) and Taylor Ansley (VP of Product Development) discuss NMG OneShop — an all-in-one digital solution designed for the Independent retail channel.

Lauren and Taylor dive into topics like new features, how the OneShop team utilizes data to make continuous improvements, and how businesses benefit from having a dedicated digital presence online to fuel both e-commerce and in-store traffic.

LEARN MORE about OneShop here.

Lauren Hylarides (LH): Hi, I have Taylor Ansley here. Taylor, do you want to introduce yourself to our members really quick?

Taylor Ansley (TA): Sure. So my name is Taylor Ansley. I’m Vice President of Product Management here at NMG.

LH: And you are focused keenly on our OneShop solution lately. And we’ve had a lot of exciting things happen. Like we had here at PrimeTime our digital main stage, our digital open house. We’ve been having a lot of really fun conversations with our members about the exciting things on the horizon for OneShop.

You did a really great job presenting during our digital main stage. You shared some really exciting, exclusive news about our OneShop solutions. Do you want to highlight some of your favorite things from the digital main stage?

TA: Sure. Yeah, I’d be happy to.

And yeah, I think the excitement around the product’s been great and having a lot of great conversations with members about both big improvements that we bring to the platform, as well as kind of those continuous improvements that we’re going to just keep making throughout the days, weeks, and months and years to make everything a lot better.

So the big things that we’ve talked about this PrimeTime are really around a couple of core themes that I think about when we plan our roadmap for OneShop and decide how to build, what we build, and what we build next. And that really kind of comes down to how do you differentiate yourself as an independent retailer and make sure people know why to buy from you directly.

So we have a new feature we’re coming out with that’s going to use generative AI to rewrite product descriptions and romance copy on these sites and really help these retailers sell in a way that’s consistent with their culture, the way their salespeople might sell something in a store. So excited to be able to do that and leverage AI to do that really at scale and with the click of a button for these retailers.

The other way we think about it is we need to drive foot traffic. These retailers are at their best when customers in their store are talking to a professional salesperson with experience in these categories who can really drill down to what that customer needs.

So we’ve done some stuff around a My Store feature, which really kind of highlights the nearest store to a customer, drives their attention to how to get there and hours and phone number and things like that and ties that in with on display data as well.

And then finally, the big one for me is something that’s been in the works for quite a while. I’ve worked really closely with our product design team on a fully reimagined cart and checkout process. And that’s really streamlined, simplified for the retailer and the customer themselves and really should drive a lot more conversion and higher tickets on those e-commerce purchases.

LH: I think one of my favorite things during your presentation and even just talking right now was learning about how we decided to make some of these improvements. So especially around the cart, you showed some really interesting consumer data. Can you talk a little bit more about that?

TA: Sure. So one thing that’s really important to us and just kind of as an organization is to leverage data everywhere we can. And so we’re blessed by the nature of our network. And by supporting all these sites for all these very diverse retailers with different markets and different needs, being able to see a snapshot of that data.

And then we also go outside of our own network. So we use tools like Baymart Institute, which surveys about 13,000 e-commerce sites all over the internet and gives us some best practices to kind of lean on and audits of different larger brands that may have their own teams of 10, 20, hundreds of people doing this kind of data analysis, but brings that to the independent channel.

And so we are very focused on using all that data any way we can and kind of really trying to bring a best-in-class experience to this pool of member retailers.

LH: That’s amazing. And I know we use a lot of what I would call it quantitative data. We’re also getting a lot of really great qualitative data here. And I know we want to pull from consumer behaviors and from point-of-sale data and from all of those like numeric data that we can pull from.

But I think we’re getting a lot of really good voice of customer from our members and from our retailers. What’s a really good learning that you feel like you’ve gotten from just a one-on-one conversation with a member since you’ve been here at the show?

TA: Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, the product data is a really, it’s always been a really tricky problem for us to solve. I mean, our product data team does an incredible job and maintains this database of 6 million different product SKUs with all the data and photos and specs and everything from the manufacturers and that’s 1,700 brands that we’re covering.

But you know, as a result, we have to operate at a scale that’s sort of daunting. And when it comes to things like how products are categorized, or how filters are able to function on the site by different attributes, there’s always more we can do there. And so got a lot of great feedback from members of the show really around how that kind of filtering and browsing experience is working on the sites and ways in which we can just make that even better.

We know from the quantitative data, that customers spend a lot of time browsing those what we call PLPs or product listing pages. Qualitatively, we know from the retailers that we’ve spoken to that we can just improve that and make it more similar to how they might guide a customer in the store. So we’ll be working through that.

LH: I love that because we always talk about your website being your 24/7 salesperson. So when your show floors closed, this is where shoppers are going to learn about your products. And I love that generative AI feature because it is truly turning your website into a salesperson that you might want to hire. They’re using the same voice and tone that you use with your customers. So I think that’s wonderful.

The theme of this PrimeTime has been all about connection, connection to education and to a network and the power of the network. And we’ve had a lot of really great touch points for our members in the booth and building those relationships there. What’s been your biggest takeaway kind of connection point that you’ve seen happening at prime time for OneShop?

TA: Sure. Yeah. So I’m you know, my background before I came to NMG was running an independent digital agency. So still doing website work and digital marketing and things like that. You know, on the outside. And I think that one advantage of OneShop and our team is, you know, this is a place where when the retailer wins, we win. And that connection is so tight and tied to this organization as a whole, not just OneShop, but NMG, period.

And so, you know, I’ve had just a lot of really great conversations with retailers who want to participate in the evolution of this platform, want their voice heard. But I’m, you know, also just asking them and really desperate for that feedback and for that information. And so I really love the community that we’re building around the product because it’s going to make the product stronger and it’s going to let everyone feel that their, you know, their priorities are being attended to. So I’m excited for that.

LH: That’s something I’ve heard a lot from the members and retailers who have been coming in as just the partnership and, you know, kind of the advocacy that they feel. And I think PrimeTime is a really great kind of microcosm of seeing that come to life, but it’s what members are seeing from their account managers and from their OneShop support teams all the time, even outside of PrimeTime. And so hearing that directly from them has been really powerful.

TA: Yeah, I think we’re very lucky as an organization. I mean, the family friendly version of this phrase is the give a hoot factor is pretty high around here, right? Staff that work at NMG period, but especially on the OneShop team, I can speak directly to, they care deeply about the success of their members. They care deeply about, you know, just helping them succeed. They want them to win. It’s a job that is, feels good about coming to work every day. Cause you’re helping the smaller independent dealer really succeed in this really competitive and difficult business environment. And so, yeah, it’s, it’s really a fun team to be a part of.

LH: Okay. I’m going to ask you some questions about like learning about OneShop, kind of connecting our members and meeting them where they might be.

TA: Sure.

LH: So if, if we have a retailer who doesn’t have a website, maybe they’re still using their Facebook page as their main touch point for shoppers online, how would you recommend they start… begin their journey into learning about OneShop or even about how to build a digital reputation online?

TA: Sure. So I’d say again, it goes back to people on our side. We’ve got great digital salespeople, great customer account managers who can walk you through what that process looks like and can take as much of that off of your plate as you want. We have dealers who want to be very involved in different aspects of their site and others who just say, can you just get it set up for me and let me review it before it goes live. And we’re happy to work either way. Right?

So that’s the first step is really connecting with the right person at NMG on our, on our OneShop team who can really walk you through that process.

I would say to the dealer who’s maybe using Facebook or something else or has their own site but doesn’t have product data, that sort of thing. I would just ask yourself what that customer that’s coming in your store might expect from you, right? And is that going to be sufficient to bring in a new customer?

Maybe the customer that shopped with you for 30 years doesn’t need a site cause they know they’re just going to stop by when they need something new. But for that new customer, that next generation customer, they’re really expecting to be able to find product data online, to be able to browse before they walk in the door and see what they might be able to see in the store, what you might be able to do for them. And so there’s really, you know, we’re in a world now where you can’t really get away without having that data available.

LH: A hundred percent. I thought Adam Gilbert made a really good point in Digital Mainstage about how your online competition isn’t just your next-door competition. It’s not even just big box. You really have to put yourself in the shoes of the shopper and think about what do you expect whenever you go to an Amazon or even when you log into your Netflix account, what’s kind of the user experience and sophistication level are you expecting to greet you? So I think that’s a really great point that it’s kind of all of these online experiences are really raising the bar of what a shopper expects. So you’ve got to meet them where they are.

TA: Yeah, absolutely agree.

LH: That’s wonderful. Okay. Is there any final closing thoughts you wanted to share about this PrimeTime or where you see OneShop going?

TA: No, I mean, it’s been a wonderful PrimeTime. I love being in San Antonio. It’s a great city. It’s been a lot of fun and beautiful weather while we’re here. So that’s been great.

You know, I think my big message on OneShop is always that what makes me most excited to come to work every day is that we can improve every single day. So we release new code Monday through Thursdays. We’ve got just full workloads for the development teams working their way through these roadmap items and these both small and large improvements.

And so the OneShop you see today is different than the OneShop you’ll see a month from now and very different from OneShop you’ll see six months from now. We’re already seeing phenomenal success in terms of traffic, in terms of e-commerce conversions and purchases and things like that. So as long as we continue on that trajectory with every new feature we build, I think we and the retailers that we serve will be very in good shape.

LH: I’m constantly impressed at the feature release notes that I see and that we incorporate into the OneShop newsletter called The Wire. So if you aren’t subscribed to that, make sure that you are because you’ll get a lot of really great new information about what’s happening with OneShop and what you have available to you through that solution every month.

So Taylor, thank you so much. This has been great. We’ve learned so much. We’ve shared a lot about what OneShop brought to PrimeTime this year, and I think we’re going to have a lot of really great, exciting things to share at the next PrimeTime.

TA: Well, thanks, Lauren. And we’ll see you in Phoenix or Nashville. Nashville.

LH: Nashville. See you in Nashville.