AcmeTools Selects IBM Smarter Commerce for its Mobile Shopping Platform

No matter how long a company has been established, it has to have a digital presence in order to continue thriving into the future. Acme Tools was founded by George Kuhlman in 1948 as a small electric motor repair shop in downtown Grand Forks, North Dakota, and 65 years later it is a major tools and equipment supplier with a robust online presence. In order to continue its growth, the company announced it has selected the IBM (News - Alert) Smarter Commerce platform to provide a reliable mobile shopping experience for its customers.

The new AcmeTools mobile solution was developed by BlueSky (News - Alert) Technology Partners, an eCommerce consulting firm focusing explicitly on IBM products and service, leveraging IBM’s WebSphere Commerce for delivering an online shopping experience that delivers quality and reliability no matter what platform or device the customer uses to purchase the product.

The drive by Acme to improve its mobile offerings is based on research—including one conducted by IBM in which it revealed mobile traffic accounted for nearly 35 percent of all online traffic in the fourth quarter of 2013, which was up 40 percent year-over-year. The study also showed mobile sales accounted for close to 17 percent of all online sales, which was an increase of 46 percent over the same period the previous year. These numbers are likely to rise as the penetration rate of smart phones continues to increase around the world.

The Acme mobile site was designed from the ground up to take advantage of mobile platforms for delivering faster load times as well as enhancing the user experience. This includes giving registered users the ability to use cross-platform features with saved wish lists, saved checkout and being able to finalize a purchase on a smartphone, tablet or laptop. The click-to-call and store locator functions also deliver alternative options for customers that want to purchase the products at a brick-and-mortar store.

The IBM WebSphere is designed to give organizations a cross-channel commerce platform that companies can use to market and sell through advanced web and mobile stores and through personalized marketing and merchandising tools using web, mobile, social, store or phone.

"We recognized the importance of having a mobile friendly site for our customers. Our online customers will experience the same excellent shopping experience whether they're using a smartphone, tablet or laptop," stated Paul Kuhlman, vice president of merchandise operations and marketing for Acme Tools.