In 2019, Tim Finseth was up against a hardware chain across the street, with about 8,000 square feet to work with. His family-run Hardware Hank in Warren, Minnesota had served the town for more than 50 years. Still, the competition was getting stronger, so the store had to adapt.
This endless aisle kiosk case study looks back at what Tim did next. He added furniture, a category hardware stores rarely carry, without taking floor space away from his core categories. As a result, furniture became the store’s number one dollar department within a year. The kiosk behind it paid for itself in the first 3 months.
These results come from the store’s first year with the kiosk, as told in March 2019. We are retelling the story because the lesson still holds for small stores with big ambitions.
The challenge
A hardware store with a furniture gap
Hardware Hank already knew how to grow by adding categories. About ten years earlier, Tim had added electronics and appliances, and it helped the store sell more. By 2019 the aisles ran from hand and power tools to grills, plumbing, electrical and lighting, houseware, pet supplies, and office supplies.
Then the Finseths spotted a gap. The nearest furniture stores were thirty miles to the east and thirty miles to the west of Warren. So shoppers in town had no furniture store close to home.
However, furniture eats space. A furniture store of similar size usually shows around 200 pieces. Hardware Hank had room for fewer than twenty, and most of those were smaller accessories. Meanwhile, every foot handed to sofas would come out of tools, hardware, and the other categories guests came in for.
The solution
The trade show find behind this endless aisle kiosk case study
The answer showed up at a furniture trade show. Tim saw a large-format touchscreen kiosk that displayed thousands of furniture items, so he could browse an entire product lineup from one screen.
This is exactly what we need in our store.
Tim Finseth, Owner, Hardware Hank, Warren, MN
An endless aisle kiosk lets a store sell far more than it can stock, because shoppers browse the full catalog on screen. For Hardware Hank, that meant a small range of furniture on the sales floor and in the window, while thousands of items in dozens of categories lived on the kiosk.
In addition, the catalogs stayed up to date. Inventory showed in real time, so guests could see what was available before they picked a piece. Without the kiosk, stocking all the inventory that comes with selling furniture would not have been possible.
Hardware Hank was also one of the first members of the United Hardware cooperative to add an endless aisle furniture kiosk.
The solution
Would guests buy a sofa from a screen?
Tim calls himself an old-fashioned guy. He likes to see and touch a product before he buys it, so he had questions.
I wondered how my guests would feel about purchasing something as big as furniture without being able to examine it in person.
Tim Finseth, Owner, Hardware Hank, Warren, MN
Instead, his guests surprised him.
I’m an old fashioned guy, I don’t typically like buying things from my cell phone or a computer. So, I was immediately surprised to see how easy people found ordering from the kiosk. They just love playing with it!
Tim Finseth, Owner, Hardware Hank, Warren, MN
Because shoppers could zoom in on large product images, read the details, and text themselves dimensions, they felt informed enough to buy. Tim also kept a few upholstery items on the floor, so guests could get a feel for the quality for themselves.
This is so much better than traditional paper catalog shopping and it really improved guests’ experience in our store.
Tim Finseth, Owner, Hardware Hank, Warren, MN
After that, the routine was simple. Every guest who came through the door and asked about furniture was led to the kiosk to shop at their own pace, with no pressure. In fact, guests liked to play with it, and the kiosk became one more reason to pop in.
The results
What the kiosk delivered for Hardware Hank
The payback came fast.
It paid for itself in the first 3 months and has been generating sales ever since!
Tim Finseth, Owner, Hardware Hank, Warren, MN
Then furniture kept climbing. One year after launch, the newest department in the store was also the biggest by dollars.
Our furniture department, in one year went from nonexistent to being the number 1 dollar department.
Tim Finseth, Owner, Hardware Hank, Warren, MN
And the hardware floor stayed intact. Tools, plumbing, and the rest of the core categories kept their space.
Without the kiosk, we wouldn’t have been able to add furniture to the store and make all these sales.
Tim Finseth, Owner, Hardware Hank, Warren, MN
Here is the endless aisle kiosk case study in four numbers, all as reported in 2019:
- About 8,000 sq ft hardware store in Warren, MN
- Fewer than 20 furniture pieces on the floor
- 3 months for the kiosk to pay for itself
- #1 dollar department: furniture, in one year, from nonexistent
