IT SOFTWARE FOR SUCCESS
A desire to diversify and capitalise on the B2C market is driving demand for easy-to-use design and sales solutions. BMJ investigates.
L
ike many businesses, builders merchants have begun to recognise the benefits of branching out to attract new customers. While growing business with existing customers should always be a key priority, merchants are increasingly starting to recognise how a B2C offering can boost their bottom line.
But moving into a new sector of the market and serving the needs of a different type of customer is no mean feat. It can be expensive and time consuming to invest the resources in getting to grips with the B2C market. After all, consumers are demanding more from their interiors than ever before. The rise of social media has changed the way they buy kitchens and bathrooms and put design firmly at the centre of every project.
And this is what may have traditionally deterred some independent merchants from embracing the B2C market. As many of the big-name DIY stores have recognised, their staff don’t tend to be interior designers or trained kitchen and bathroom
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specialists, who are experienced in creating inspirational designs.
However, the latest software is helping to level the playing field and providing merchants with fresh opportunities to sell new spaces. Not only can it improve efficiency and help merchants become more visible to consumers, it also provides modern, collaborative design and sales tools to give customers a more responsive service. And that’s exactly what homeowners, who may be undertaking a renovation project for the first time, need. From the very first step, consumers require support and education on a variety of aspects from the styles, materials and finishes on offer, to working out what layout makes the most of their space, and how far their budget can take their project. It means that merchants need a tool that can help them collaborate with and inspire consumers while keeping their businesses running efficiently.
Fortunately, the latest software makes this possible and practical for builder’s merchants. Cyncly’s new Spaces Flex provides merchants
with a powerful combination of online consumer self-service for inspiration and design, personalised in-store assistance for design and sales, and seamless collaboration with professional designers for 3D space planning.
Ben Roberts, director of enterprise sales at Cyncly, says that with more customers searching for and purchasing products online, Spaces Flex can help turn merchants’ websites into a virtual showroom where consumers can explore products in designs that match their space.
Self-guided inspiration and auto-design tools allow consumers to use a merchant’s website – or in-store kiosks – to create 3D generated designs populated with products that the merchant stocks, to be validated and sold faster than ever.
“Spaces Flex is built on a cloud platform that can be accessed from any location and supports multiple buying journeys, both online and in-person. It incorporates the kitchen and bathroom industry’s most accurate,
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net April 2025
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