Gun Made Connects Manufacturer Websites With Local Dealer Inventory
New Product Locator aims to turn manufacturers’ online traffic into in-store sales for more than 4,200 firearms retailers
For years, the firearms industry has faced an unusual disconnect in the customer journey. Consumers increasingly research products online, yet many purchases ultimately take place across the counter of a licensed firearms dealer.
Gun Made believes it has built a bridge between the two.
More than 20 firearms manufacturers, including IWI, Taran Tactical, Atlas Gunworks and Charter Arms, have connected their websites with live dealer inventory through Gun Made technology. Five additional brands are expected to launch on the platform within the next six weeks.
Image courtesy Gunmade.com.
From Product Page To Dealer Counter
When consumers visit a participating manufacturer’s product page, they can see retailers that currently have the item in stock. The results include independent gun stores, big-box retailers and online dealers, with nearby stores carrying the product on the shelf receiving priority.
The idea is straightforward: Give a shopper who has already decided to investigate a particular firearm an immediate path to finding it locally.
For manufacturers, that potentially extends the value of advertising dollars beyond website traffic. For dealers, it can mean placing their inventory in front of consumers at the point when purchase interest is particularly high.
“We’ve seen 25 percent more sales on the brands that support us, and a big chunk of that is customers who had never bought from us before,” said Bill M., owner of Nagel’s Gun Shop. “Manufacturers and dealers should be partners, not adversaries.”
Image courtesy Gunmade.com.
More Than 4,200 Stores Connected
The technology is backed by Gun Made’s consumer platform, which the company says attracts more than 1.5 million users annually.
Its network integrates inventory from more than 4,200 stores and encompasses nearly 1 million SKUs. Participating retailers include Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Academy Sports, along with independent dealers and online retailers including Brownells, MidwayUSA, OpticsPlanet, EuroOptic and Natchez.
Those traffic figures do not include consumers who use Gun Made’s technology directly through participating manufacturers’ websites.
The Product Locator refreshes inventory every 15 minutes, according to the company. It can be added to a manufacturer’s website with a few lines of code and is designed to automatically enforce minimum advertised price policies.
Image courtesy Gunmade.com.
Keeping Dealers In The Equation
Gun Made founder Brady Kirkpatrick said the goal isn’t to displace firearms retailers but to make manufacturers’ digital marketing more useful to them.
“Almost every firearm sold in America goes through a local dealer, but the path from a manufacturer’s website to that dealer’s counter never existed,” Kirkpatrick said. “We built the bridge.”
That distinction is central to the company’s pitch. Gun Made says it doesn’t sell firearms or charge dealers listing fees. Instead, shoppers are directed to the retailer offering the product.
A Digital Tool With A Brick-And-Mortar Goal
E-commerce has changed how consumers research virtually everything, but firearms remain a category in which the local retailer plays an especially important role.
Connecting manufacturers’ product pages with current inventory gives brands an opportunity to turn digital interest into measurable dealer traffic, while giving local retailers another way to be discovered.
As Kirkpatrick put it, the objective is alignment: “We’re trying to make the entire path to purchase work better for the whole industry.”
Why this version works: The draft leads with dealer impact rather than technology, breaks the story into web-friendly subheads and preserves the key statistics and quotes while tightening promotional language into a more neutral trade-news voice.
Manufacturers can learn more at https://www.gunmade.com/solutions/manufacturers/. Dealers can list their inventory for free at https://www.gunmade.com/solutions/dealers/.
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