Holiday Prep: Kawasaki accessorizes
 
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This is the second in a series about retailers bolstering their Web sites in time for holiday sales. Read about Cabela's Web site re-launch here. More retail stories to come.
People who buy Kawasaki Motors' 2002 Prairie 650 all-terrain vehicle obviously are prime candidates to buy Prairie 650 accessories - which include racks, skid plates, winches and all sorts of bags and covers designed for various parts of the ATV.
The problem is, many consumers who buy Kawasaki recreational vehicles never realize how many Kawasaki-branded accessories exist, since most dealers' selection is limited, says Roger Peterson, vice president of information systems.
So, last year in time for the holiday season, Kawasaki began selling its clothing and vehicle accessories online, direct to consumers. This season, Kawasaki is beefing up its online selling and marketing efforts and launching new personalization features through its MyKawasaki initiative for frequent customers.
Using e-commerce software from Click Commerce, Kawasaki created Web pages and e-mail campaigns featuring “accessorized” vehicles. They display a motorcycle, Jet Ski, ATV or utility vehicle, for example, dressed up with as many add-ons as possible. Embedded tags identify the various accessories as Web visitors move their cursors over the image. The accessory montages show items in a visual format, rather than in static catalog listings.
The Big D
For Kawasaki, getting into retail sales was a big change in its business model.
Peterson says Kawasaki knew from the start that any attempt at selling online had to avoid the Big D: disintermediation. In other words, selling directly to consumers rather than through intermediaries.
Protecting Kawasaki's relationship with its 1,500 dealers is paramount. Selling vehicle parts online, for example, would undermine dealer sales, and Kawasaki has no intention of doing that.
But accessories are a different story.
Kawasaki was netting only a small fraction of the market for accessories sold to consumers who purchased Kawasaki vehicles, Peterson says. Dealers couldn't stock the full lineup. Plus, most sold more than one brand of accessories, diluting Kawasaki sales.
With the 20,000-item catalog available online, consumers can easily acquire accessories, and it gives Kawasaki a rare chance to interact directly with consumers. To keep the dealers happy, Kawasaki has each buyer choose a dealer that receives a reward of 60% of the difference between the wholesale price and suggested retail price of the item. The dealer gets the reward without having to do anything, since Kawasaki is responsible for fulfillment.
“We've done a lot to make everyone aware that the dealers are our partners,” says Judi Brigham, senior systems analyst at Kawasaki.
Perusing parts
In addition to gear, the buykawasaki.com consumer site includes information on parts for 1,000 different Kawasaki vehicles. By registering in the revamped MyKawasaki area, owners can look up specific parts and view diagrams. They also can track purchases, receive service bulletins and access warranty information by vehicle identification number or hull identification numbers.
Consumers still can't purchase parts online; they need to go to a dealer to procure the parts they need. But particularly for the do-it-yourself owners, seeing the parts diagrams is a popular feature, Peterson says.
Dealers, too
In conjunction with its retail site, Kawasaki also launched a dealer-only site where dealers can place parts and accessories orders, look up service bulletins and access account information. If customers give permission, Kawasaki shares their order information so dealers can run their own direct marketing campaigns.
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