A new web site, theservicedepot.com, is being launched to establish a portal
to the world of service for consumers throughout North America and the
world.
Going there, consumers will access a content-rich site with a developing
range of service solutions, including repair services, product information,
product affiliates that will offer replacement merchandise at discounted
prices, and the ability for consumers to purchase service plans directly
over the Internet. These service plans will be available at deep discounts
of as much as 50% below the cost of service plans merchandised
conventionally by brick and mortar retailers. The site will also host a
growing variety of web links to related sites where consumers can obtain
product and service information necessary to knowledgeable, informed,
decision-making.
Theservicedepot.com also offers consumers a number of free services as well
as the ability to protect, manage, and service an array of consumer
products, ranging from consumer and office electronics to lawn and garden
equipment, kitchen and laundry appliances, small electric housewares
products, exercise and fitness gear, power tools, jewelry, autos and more,
including virtually any electrical product or appliance.
Consumers will also be able to access plumbers, electricians, and other
service personnel according to their needs, including for emergency,
middle-of-the-night, repairs. A vast network of more than 70,000 authorized
service centers covering the North American continent is accessible through
theservicedepot.com, which is designed especially for those moments when
“life goes on the blink.”
Free Service
Free services offered consumers by theservicedepot.com include warranty
registration, product and service discounts, helpful tips and instruction
for do-it-yourself projects, and the unique ComputerVault.
ComputerVault allows consumers to create a personalized product portfolio,
including listings of products they’ve purchased, electronically stored
receipts and warranty and extended service information. In case of fire,
flood, or other disaster in which the original papers might be destroyed,
theservicedepot.com can be accessed for a complete record of these vital
documents for insurance and other purposes. Users who wish to purchase
extended service protection for a product can click on product protection
and purchase coverage for that product at deep discounts from conventional
plans available off-line.
Consumers who need service for a particular product registered in
theservicedepot.com’s ComputerVault can click a “repair” icon and be linked
to an affiliated service center for warranty service or a prepaid repair
visit. Before choosing to repair a product not covered by warranty or
extended service plan, consumers will be able to review statistics on the
average useful life of the product and the cost of replacement as an
alternative, using a unique “repair cost calculator.”
For consumers who decide they want to purchase a new product rather than
repair the old one, a simple click on a “replace” icon will link them to a
participating e-tailer or refer them to an affiliated retailer. Consumers
replacing a product originally purchased from an affiliated e-tailer or
retailer will be referred back to that source. Consumers can also opt to
access theservicedepot.com’s full range of affiliated merchants for
convenience and, if desired, comparison shopping.
Finally, consumers whose product is covered by an extended service plan
previously purchased but nearing expiration can click on a “renew” icon and
extend their coverage at attractive, affordable rates for renewed protection
and peace of mind. Still another advantage of theservicedepot.com’s
ComputerVault is the ability it affords consumers to monitor the life span
of consumables like ink cartridges, toner, and other items, and replace them
before they run out-at discount prices.
How to know whether a product in need of repair is still covered under
warranty or extended service plan? Theservicedepot.com’s ComputerVault
program provides consumers with free online warranty and automatic service
plan registration.
Theservicedepot.com is poised to capitalize on the fast-growing demand for
off-line and online service. By providing consumers with an online portal to
the world of service, including toll-free access to live customer service
representatives and a “message board rating system” providing feedback on
their service experience, as well as a site featuring a developing array of
services ranging from product purchase, repair, replacement, and
registration, and more, theservicedepot.com is establishing a total service
solution–and its leadership of the service market.
Consumers can access the total service solution offered by
theservicedepot.com 24 hours a day, seven days a week by visiting the
company’s web site at www.theservicedepot.com or by calling 1-877-65-DEPOT
(1-877-653-3768).
Over the past two decades, tens of millions of consumers have purchased
extended service plans to protect their product purchases and achieve the
peace of mind that comes from knowing that, should a product fail after
warranty, there will be absolutely no cost to service and repair or replace
the covered product. Until now, however, information about service and
service plans has been unavailable over the Internet, and the ability to
purchase service plans over the Internet has not been readily available to
consumers.
However, with Internet access spreading to millions of new consumers every
year, and with sales on the web expected to grow from an estimated $36
billion last year to more than $300 billion within the next five years,
product and service information are increasingly in demand.
As a result, sales of service plans off-line and over the Internet are
expected to increase substantially in the years ahead, reaching a combined
total of $3.7 billion from a current level of $1.8 billion by 2004. Research
indicates that the online portion of this business will grow from a current
level of less than $10 million expected this year to more than $300 million
by 2004. Online, as many as 90% of consumers are never offered a product
protection plan. Off-line data shows that 70% of consumers are offered
product protection plans for their purchases, and that the mere offer
results in a sale 30% of the time. And, since there need not have been a
retail purchase or purchases prior to purchasing product protection online,
the Internet could generate significantly higher incidences of product
protection purchases than experts currently envision.
Theservicedepot.com projects sales of as much $30 million within the first
full year of operations, climbing to almost $160 million in 2005. Since
research shows as many as 90% of online shoppers are not offered service
plans when making product purchases, theservicedepot.com expects to
dramatically expand the market, online and off, through a major marketing
campaign designed to create awareness and spur demand for service among its
targeted market of 25-54-year-olds throughout the U.S.
TheServiceDepot.com
