Innovating to Thrive: In, and Beyond COVID

The numbers don’t lie: home renovation projects have surged over the last 18 months with no signs of slowing. In the wake of shifting COVID restrictions, homeowners continue to reevaluate their spaces’ look, feel, and function.

Retailers, too, have had to figure out how they keep consumers happy while safeguarding everyone’s health. Enter Primco, with leading-edge technology backed by decades of on-the-floor experience.

Cam and Tyler welcome their first in-studio guest, Primco Operations Manager Angela Baldwin, to introduce two tools that set the industry standard for pandemic responsiveness: Primco’s at-home sample program and virtual room designer.

Lockdown restrictions have a way of quickly changing consumer behavior. It’s no surprise then that as folks return to some in-person activities, home improvement customers now prefer the ease of virtual access over showroom visits.

“It was very apparent we needed to be there,” Angela says of the online design space. Primco embraced the change, guiding retailers through that initial lockdown with on-demand webinars and information that they could share with their customers.

Tyler even recorded a few product launches from his garage to keep the ball rolling. That momentum picked up when it came to getting samples into the hands of consumers even as retailers remained closed. “This was our first opportunity to make a great impression with the consumer, and we didn’t want to fall down on that,” Angela says.

Once again, Primco met the challenge, spring-boarding off a Mannington® at-home program to establish their own experience. From carpet to laminate, tile to hardwood, both consumers and retailers can confidently select from a wide range of offerings, knowing that their picks will ship within 48-hours. These generously sized pieces arrive via Canada Post, ready to add the instant drama of high-performance products to mood boards and design discussions.

For consumers who want to visualize on a grand scale and share their inspiration via social media, Primco’s virtual designer makes it easy to do both. Users simply snap a picture of any room, choose their favorite flooring or mosaic product, and the virtual designer does all the work, transforming what was once dull into something dreamy.

Both tools received high marks from Angela, who used them in real life for her COVID-necessitated upgrade. “It was a complete experience, between the virtual designer and between that Canada Post program, in my house as I went through that renovation.”

The pandemic forced everyone to adopt new virtual processes. Digital native cohorts––many of whom are homeowners––ensure that those innovations are here to stay.

Angela says that Primco is committed to investing in tech that delights these consumers and supports retailers. ”[I] hope we don’t ever lose that momentum of being right on the edge of that technology and pushing ourselves individually to find out what is the newest and greatest out there.”

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Know Where You Stand is produced and edited by The Creative Impostor Studios.

To learn more about topics we discuss, visit https://primco.ca/ or contact your local sales rep.

We know where we stand so you know where you stand.