Ace Hardware in Expanded Pact With eBay

eBay Enterprise, an eBay Inc. company, today announced an expanded partnership with Ace Hardware to power its omnichannel initiative with eBay Enterprise In-Store Pickup. According to the "The Forrester Wave(TM): Omnichannel Order Management, Q3 2014" report by Forrester Research, Inc., eBay Enterprise store fulfillment solutions stand out as a best-of-breed suite. Ace selected eBay Enterprise to enhance its omnichannel capabilities as the company ramps up its efforts to stay competitive, drive sales and generate new customer acquisition efforts. Ace and eBay Enterprise partnered together during the summer of 2013 to pilot the in-store pickup program. Its initial implementation included 36 stores and on average has added this cloud-based solution to more than 50 stores per month. By the end of July with more than 500 stores enabled with eBay Enterprise In-Store Pickup, Ace has realized an average lift of 18 to 20 percent in its ecommerce sales. Furthermore, Ace has seen growth in overall sales and new customers they would have not obtained without this program. "We had been searching for a solution to help us acquire new customers and drive additional sales to our brick and mortar locations," said Jeff Gooding, director of consumer marketing at Ace. "The decision to implement eBay Enterprise In-Store Pickup has had immediate positive effects for us. The flexibility, ease of use, extensive training at the local store level and support from eBay Enterprise for our retail associates was key to making this initiative successful." Since 2003, eBay Enterprise has provided Ace with commerce solutions, including webstore, marketing solutions, drop ship, fulfillment and customer service. With more than 4,800 hardware stores locally owned and operated across the globe, Ace is the largest hardware cooperative in the industry. Ace plans to launch the in-store pickup solution in a total of 1,000 stores nationwide. "Local is one of the key battlegrounds for retailers looking to create a competitive advantage. eBay Enterprise is leading store fulfillment globally with quick to implement solutions live in North America, Europe and Asia," said Tom Barone, head of omnichannel operations for eBay Enterprise, North America. "eBay Enterprise provides technology and services that enable retailers to compete, attract new customers and drive additional sales with industry-leading ROI."