NYNOW365, a new online product directory created by GLM, will facilitate retailers’ searches for products and exhibitors at NY NOW, the Market for Home & Lifestyle (formerly the New York International Gift Fair).
The image-based directory, available online at nynow365.com, allows exhibiting suppliers to create collections of products to showcase to retailers and other buyers registered to attend NY NOW.
“We have created NYNOW365 as part of GLM’s mission to improve efficiencies of product sourcing and distribution within the markets we serve,” said Charles G. McCurdy, CEO of GLM. “As a proprietary online resource available 365 days a year, NYNOW365 allows GLM to be the most robust market-maker in the industry.”
Full use of NYNOW365 is available to all NY NOW registrants and other qualified buyers through a “Request Invite” form on the site. Retailers can browse or search for specific suppliers and products. As part of each search, buyers are given options to “like” the product, and/or “pin” the product to their own online product board for future reference.
A “Popular” tab allows buyers to see products that have been searched for and “liked” by other site users. In turn, users can see product boards made public by other users. Additionally, buyers can request product information, including wholesale pricing and availability, and can request at-market meetings with exhibitors.
“NYNOW365 has been live in Beta mode for three weeks, and already we have nearly 10,000 products loaded onto the site. When we officially launch the site in April, we expect to have 17,000-plus products from hundreds of exhibiting suppliers, as well as additional functionality allowing for more advanced analytics,” said Jason Brown, chief digital officer for GLM. “This proprietary GLM product extends well beyond traditional online catalogs and traditional exhibitor search engines. GLM has pioneered the use of PHP and Drupal to develop a visual product directory, capable of housing hundreds of thousands of products, in a format that is both robust and scalable.”
The site also allows exhibiting suppliers to upload an unlimited amount of product information – including images and videos – with minimal effort and at no cost. Content specialists are available to assist companies in preparing directory listings and uploading content. Exhibitors also receive retailer leads in real time and at no charge, and leads are scored and prioritized to indicate buyer interest, along with a monthly data and trend report detailing the NYNOW365 audience. Enhanced retailer data, trends and analytics, delivering deep market insights, will be made available as a paid option starting in April 2013, according to GLM.
