Voxx Rolls Out New E-Commerce Platform, Starting With Premium Audio
Voxx launched a new e-commerce platform, rolling it out first through its Premium Audio Co. subsidiary, it said Monday. The company has been looking “at all aspects of its consumer-facing assets to improve the customer experience” and move to a more “user-friendly platform” designed to improve visibility, data aggregation and support functions, it said.
Premium Audio brands that are part of the initial roll-out are Klipsch, Jamo, Onkyo, Pioneer, Elite, Magnat, Heco and Teac. Integra is not part of the early rollout, though it's listed among the company’s “most trusted brands.” A company spokesperson emailed that the Integra website “will not become transactional as this brand and its product assortment are primarily custom-integrator focused.”
The platform is capable of supporting all Voxx e-commerce initiatives throughout the company’s global footprint, it said. The new platform will “improve call times, data collection, routing, shipping information, and more, and most importantly, lead to better customer satisfaction at the point of sale and the post-sale experience,” said Voxx CEO Pat Lavelle.
The company instituted new tools for customer service reps that are integrated with operations to improve visibility, reduce call times and improve resolution; the checkout experience was simplified, electronic wallet features were added and customers have more payment options, including Amazon Pay, Voxx said. "You have to provide customers with the best experience and foresee issues before they arise,” Lavelle said, calling the reworked e-commerce platform a “corporate-wide initiative” that’s starting with Premium Audio “given their iconic consumer brands and loyal customer base.”
The spokesperson noted Premium Audio invested $40 million a year ago to bring the Onkyo, Pioneer, Elite and Integra brands “back to life” and incorporate them within its portfolio, giving distributor and dealer partners access to “a complete and robust portfolio of audio solutions.” The lines experienced substantial product shortages over the past couple of years. “Prior to the acquisition, we had no control over parts, labor, product development, or inventory," he said. "The need for long lead time parts was a key factor in any product delays,” the spokesperson said.
“While all AVR manufacturers have been impacted over the last two years with supply chain disruptions due to key parts constraints, our brands have also been impacted by the financial position of the former ownership,” the spokesperson said. New Integra AVRs have been shipping “with increased regularity since late last year and available inventory will continue to increase over time,” he said. “Since the acquisition, we have worked closely with our manufacturing partner (Sharp) to secure the necessary long lead time parts to stabilize supply and produce to the level of customer demand. We have made strong progress on this goal and are currently in stock on many of our most popular products,” he said.
Direct-to-consumer “partners rely on us to create and invest in marketing programs and promotions that drive consumer demand to them for our audio solutions,” the spokesperson said. “Premium Audio Company will continue to support retailers by implementing sales/marketing programs that increase brand presence in stores and online and drive demand for the products.” The new platform also incorporates “robust dealer locators to drive traffic to our retail partners.” Premium Audio is “focused on and investing heavily in the research and development, advanced technologies, product development, marketing, and sales efforts of these brands on a global basis,” the spokesperson said.