Shaw To Launch Renovated Website

Dalton, GA, September 15, 2006--Shaw Industries will soon re-launch a renovated website at shawfloors.com featuring better, bolder room scene images, interactive visualization tools and improved dealer and consumer services. The revised edition will be accessible on October 9th. Shaw’s Web development team has given the popular shawfloors.com site a makeover based on in-depth consumer interviews, gender research, brand definition and strategic planning. Shaw’s overall goal for the redesign is to establish shawfloors.com as the flooring authority, while helping consumers make an informed purchasing decision at retail. These goals made understanding consumer behavior the cornerstone for the site’s development. “We understand that shopping for flooring can be intimidating to many consumers, since it is an infrequent purchase that has an enormous impact on the look of a home,” said Scott Sandlin, vice president of marketing, Shaw Industries. “Consumers often don’t know where to start or who to trust, however, it’s clear that the Web is among the first sources of information that they consult when researching home improvement products. With that in mind, the redesigned shawfloors.com provides consumers with the information they need to select a product that will provide the basis for their home’s design.” Shaw spoke with dealers to determine how manufacturers could enhance the consumer experience and facilitate communications between consumers and retail sales associates. The results of those interviews, combined with increased consumer reliance on Internet research, led Shaw to include intuitive and easy-to-use consumer tools in shawfloors.com. Director of marketing technology Steve Abernathy engaged Columbus, Ohio-based Resource Interactive to re-engineer and design the new website. “Resource Interactive’s expertise is in gender-driven online marketing, so their participation in the project helped to ensure that the shawfloors.com experience would resonate with women,” said Abernathy. “Because Shaw’s typical consumer is female, and women are twice as likely as men to use visualization tools, interactive design features are key to the new site design,” said Kelly Mooney, Resource Interactive president and chief experience officer, and author of The Ten Demandments: Rules to Live by in the Age of the Demanding Customer. “Women want to see the big picture; they need to be inspired. Shawfloors.com’s design and visualization tools empower consumers by enabling them to explore, customize and even choose their flooring before they step into a store.” Shaw’s research revealed that consumers have an eye for specific styles and “moods” that appeal to them, but they lack the expertise to create their vision. Shawfloors.com’s interactive “Try on a Floor” tool helps consumers overcome this lack of design confidence by allowing consumers to: • Visualize product in various room scene settings, and coming soon they will be able to visualize product in their own room setting. • Save favorite products and articles in their “My Shaw Floors” folder. • Chat live with Shaw service representatives. “Our main goal for the new shawfloors.com is to bridge the consumer’s research experience with their retail shopping experience,” said Sandlin. “The site’s features help to pave the way for Shaw dealers to make the final sale and help consumers feel good about their purchase." Shawfloors.com helps dealers sell Shaw products by enabling consumers to: • Order samples of carpet, hardwood or laminate online. • Use an upgraded dealer locator with product-specific searches and mileage calculators that directs consumers to the store to purchase. • Soon they will be able to visit dealer profile pages that feature store-specific information and promotions. To drive traffic to the new shawfloors.com, Shaw introduces the “I Want a Rug Instant Win and Floor Makeover Sweepstakes.” Shaw is giving away one area rug every hour for 60 days, totaling 1,440 rugs.

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