Dalton—Mohawk wants to eliminate carpet-buying confusion and has developed the EasyChoice merchandising system to help achieve its goal.

According to the company, 30% to 40% of women who walk into a floor covering store ready to buy, end up postponing the purchase because they don’t understand their choices. The Mohawk EasyChoice system removes confusion and simplifies the buying process.

“Mohawk has worked on numerous ways to help consumers get the information they need to make informed decisions about flooring,” said Jenny Cross, brand manager for Mohawk residential carpet. “We know that making the customer comfortable with our products is critical, and EasyChoice is the latest step in this process.”

The system categorizes each Mohawk carpet based on its performance characteristics into one of four categories in an easy-to-follow good, better, best style—Elite, “the ultimate in performance, luxury and fashion for your home”; Premier, “reward yourself with the best performance, color and style”; Preferred, “beautiful and durable means better long-term value,” and Select, “good performance for your everyday flooring needs.”

Each grouping is based on performance differentiations the consumer can’t see, and provides a variety of products to fit each customer’s style. In essence, the system does the shopper’s homework, allowing her to make a confident, knowledgeable decision.

“Research suggests that consumers often want to buy better goods than salespeople might suspect,” said Cross. “EasyChoice helps customers feel confident enough about their selections to opt for a better carpet—as well as make the buying decision.”

EasyChoice also gives retailers the opportunity to step customers up to better quality merchandise, improving profitability. According to Cross, the system is inherently intuitive and salespeople don’t have to explain it to consumers. “Dealers have been asking for a simpler way to categorize products for a while,” she said. “This system helps salespeople have a logical flow in category based on performance, not color and style.”

She added EasyChoice gives retailers the ability to display all Mohawk carpet together. “Dealers may have Mohawk in two or three different areas of their store. This gives them an umbrella to pull all our products together logically.”

The EasyChoice system coordinates warranties with carpet construction, and is included in all 2007 card updates packages. EasyChoice kits are also available for displays that do not have card updates this year. Each kit includes a categorized product listing, designators for each sample and a new header for the display.

For more information on Mohawk EasyChoice, call 800.275.6642.