Amazon is an increasingly important channel for brands selling tools and home improvement products. For ecommerce teams looking to take advantage of this growth, it’s important to understand what aspects of the Amazon product page are the most critical to growing sales and building market share. I recently led a webinar specifically focused on this vertical, and our accompanying benchmark report for brands selling on Amazon. Listen to the 30-minute webinar or take a look at the highlights we’ve gathered for you.

1. Growing review counts needs to be a top priority

It’s no secret that consumers take a lot of stock in how a product is reviewed on Amazon. In fact, a study we conducted across more than 2,000 consumers earlier this year showed that better reviews help drive higher margins, and are a big contributor to consumer trust of that brand:

But tools and home improvement brands need to be especially focused on this area. Products that are the biggest sellers on Amazon within the category had review counts that positively dwarfed those of poor sellers. Specifically, the difference in review counts between products in the top 10% of Amazon Sales Rank, and the bottom 10% ranged from roughly 10X to more than 30X.

While improving review counts doesn’t happen overnight, tools and home improvement brands need to employ tactics to help grow these as fast as possible. This includes including an in-package insert soliciting a review from the customer, to post purchase email communications, to approved paid review campaigns like Amazon Vine.

2. Regardless of price, your product should have more than 1-2 images

There were a few recurring themes across every price point studied within the benchmark report, and two of them revolved around image counts. In what should be encouraging to every brand that understands the value of product content, a plurality of products within every price range studied only had a single image on their respective pages. Meanwhile, top-performing product pages consistently had 2X+ more images than poor performers, ranging from an average of 3.9 to 4.6. The example below, from the $250 and above segment in the report, is typical:

While getting additional imagery for every single product in your catalog may not be realistic over the short term, brands in this space should initially focus their efforts on improving imagery for their products with high sales volumes or high margins. This will place the business on more solid footing before moving to longer-tail products. Qualitatively, we saw top performers including in-use or in-home product shots as part of their assortment in order to better illustrate product quality or functionality to prospective buyers.

3. Don’t glaze over below-the-fold content or A-Plus

Our co-founder Rob Gonzalez recently co-hosted a webinar with Mark White from Content26, and one of the major insights coming out of that session was the importance of below-the-fold, A-Plus content on Amazon. While not every consumer scrolls down to that section, those that do are likely your most engaged, and for them, that content significantly helps with conversion.

Top performers in the tools and home improvement space used that below-the-content in a variety of ways depending on the product. Some, like Philips and their Hue smart light bulbs, emphasize use cases and functionality. Others, like Moen and their touchless faucet, look to harp on product quality and craftsmanship. In any case, your product’s key marketing messages should get reemphasized here in order to drive those conversions with engaged buyers.

Because Amazon rewards higher conversion with higher search placement, brands that execute well get the positive feedback loop that drives sales over the long term. As we’ve written previously, regardless of whether you are using AMS & Promotions, in the long-run your products need to convert at a higher rate than the competition when buyers land on the page.

For more tips and data, be sure to check out the full Product Page Benchmark Report, which gives a lot more color on these and other trends within the tools and home improvement marketplace on Amazon.

The days of the traditional wood deck built with sixteen penny nails and swinging hammers haven’t disappeared completely. But the options for building materials has grown tremendously and offer exciting possibilities.

It used to be that an affordable deck was built with treated wood of some type. For those with a bigger budget, a redwood deck was the way to go. However, once the movement towards an “outdoor living” lifestyle began to become more popular, deck designs evolved as did the need for more versatile, longer-lasting materials.

Thinking About Wood

Surprisingly, however, despite the growing popularity of composite decking materials, they have yet to overtake treated wood. In fact,  according to a leading producer of wood preservatives, Arch Treatment Technologies, almost 75 percent of all new decks built in the U.S. use pressure-treated (PT) lumber.

In addition, classic redwood or cedar decks are still a top choice. According to an article at Popular Mechanics, 

For many purists, the only choices for decking are redwood or red cedar. Both of these western softwoods are prized for their rich color and natural beauty, and because they aren’t pumped full of chemicals or preservatives. Both species contain tannins and oils that make them naturally resistant to rot, decay and voracious insects.

If you choose to go with redwood, The California Redwood Association (CRA)recommends that you go with sapwood-streaked construction common or deck common redwood for the decking material.

For cedar, the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association suggests that four  grades of cedar to use for decking: architect clear, custom clear, architect knotty, and custom knotty. These are listed in order of the most expensive and clearest, to the least expensive and knotty.

The downside of choosing redwood or cedar over pressure-treated (PT) lumber is the cost. Those materials generally run about two to three times the cost of PT wood.

Thinking Beyond Wood

So, what about the new stuff?

Generally speaking, builders have a choice between composite or all-plastic deck building materials. 

The composites are composed primarily of wood fibers (or “wood powder”) and recycled plastic. The resulting deck can be extremely weather-proof and stain-resistant. Normally, the boards won’t splinter, warp, rot or split. However, some manufacturers have found that unsealed boards can absorb moisture over time and begin to chip and crumble.

Common manufacturers include , CorrectDeck and Trex, as well as TimberTech and Veranda, along with others. 

Plastic lumber, as you might imagine, is made from 100 percent recycled or virgin plastic, and sometimes both. Unlike the composites, plastic lumber contains no wood fibers. Much like the composites, it’s highly resistant to staining and decay, and has no knots, cracks and splinters.

Some of the makers of plastic lumber include Azek Deck, Leisure Decking and ForeverDeck. Both plastic lumber and composite materials are available in a wide variety of colors and textures. 

A relative newcomer to the composite decking world is a different type of composite called Zuri that is manufactured by Premium Decking by Royal. What makes this product different is the manufacturing process that sets it apart from the others.

Design Builders explained in a post,

Every board … has three main pieces that work together to form the end product. There’s a substrate, a photo print, and an acrylic capstock. This is true for any of the Zuri decking colors and types of Zuri decking, as Zuri does not need to be stained.

The base of every Zuri board is a cellular PVC substrate. This PVC resin has had air blown into it so it’s not as rigid as typical PVC, and this process also enlarges the PVC. This gives each board a bit of natural give and flexibility, which contributes to the manufacturer’s goal of approximating natural wood. It also minimizes the chance of cracking or breaking, as each board can bend and accommodate added weight or natural fluctuations.

In addition, each board is covered with a protective layer that is textured and has a photorealistic print that makes it look like real wood. A downside for many homeowners, however, might be the cost. Compared to other kinds of composite or plastic decking materials on the market, Zuri decking can cost twice as much.

Getting Rid of Your Old Deck

If you already have a deck and are looking to replace it, you really have two projects on your hands. The old deck may not be repairable any longer, or you simply have decided for an entirely new design and look. Whatever the reason, the existing deck has to be dismantled and the debris will need to be hauled off and disposed of.

If you’re doing this project yourself you have a few options for this part of the task. You could haul it all away yourself, but you’ll need a suitable vehicle and a place to take all the waste and debris. You could hire a local handyman-type to make some “dump runs” for your, but that, too, can be problematic.

A better solution is to rent a small dumpster that can be delivered for you, is easy to use and fill, and will be removed once you’re done with it.

Junk King has a great solution with our MINI Dumpster rental service. And even if you have a contractor come out to dismantle your old deck before installing a new one, the MINI Dumpster is still an affordable and user-friendly option for your contractor’s use.

Whether you are rebuilding a deck, or remodeling your home, we provide our customers with the tools they need to clear away unwanted clutter. We offer a warm and friendly crew that will do the heavy lifting for you and a fleet of MINI Dumpsters that allow you to do it yourself.

Our professional and insured trash removal team will show up at your home or office, and we will call 15 minutes before we arrive at your site. In addition, we’ll give you a free estimate based on how much room your items take up in our truck. You point and we haul your items into our junk removal trucks, with no hidden fees.

Ready to get rid of that junk? It’s as simple as 1, 2, 3. You make an appointment by booking online above or by calling 1.888.888.JUNK (5865).