10 out of 10 with Mark Schumacher

In this latest edition of Home News Now’s podcast series, our host Mark Schumacher is the star of the show. Here, he talks about the importance of making the discussion as interactive as possible not only through interviews with his guests but also with his audience, who can make comments or share observations on the site, including who they want to see featured or the subjects most important to them. He also shares insights from the Home Furnishings Association’s latest conference, including market research that shows that half of consumers are leaving stores because they are dissatisfied with the sales process. “The fact that you are losing one out of every two people based upon inside practices in your store to me is incredibly concerning,” Schumacher notes. To address this, he said, the retailer needs to focus more on soft skills versus transactional approaches, while also being more engaging with the consumer. “We also need to listen and we need to think more about what that customer wants.” For this and more insights Schumacher has garnered from prior interviews and the recent HFA conference click on the video below.

The modern shopper expects flexible financing, and relying on a single solution means leaving sales on the table. That means having partners who specialize in different lending segments, from Synchrony for prime promotional offers, Fortiva for second-look financing and a wide range of payment options from American First Finance. Versatile’s technology is the unified platform that connects all these solutions, ensuring your teams can quickly get every customer to a “yes,” in-store or online.

Synchrony (NYSE: SYF) is a leading consumer financing company at the heart of American commerce and opportunity. From health to home, auto to retail, our Synchrony products have been serving the needs of people and businesses for nearly 100 years. We provide responsible access to credit and banking products to support healthier financial lives for tens of millions of people, enabling them to access the things that matter to them. Additionally, through our innovative products and experiences, we support the growth and operations of some of the country’s most respected brands, as well as more than 400,000 small and midsize businesses and health and wellness providers that Americans rely on. Synchrony is proud to be ranked as the country’s #2 Best Company to Work For® by Fortune magazine and Great Place to Work®. http://www.synchronybusiness.com/ 

Fortiva® Retail Credit is a technology-enabled second look point-of-sale consumer credit program issued by The Bank of Missouri. The omnichannel program leverages instant decisioning capabilities, deep underwriting analytics, and a paperless process platform to provide best-in-class retail finance solutions for its clients both in-store and online. This flexible technology platform provides a loan decision to consumers within seconds. Clients in markets such as furniture, big box/specialty retail, flooring, home improvement, HVAC, electronics, elective medical, health and fitness, home automation, and jewelry offer the Fortiva Retail Credit program for second look financing. The Fortiva® Retail Credit program is available throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information, please visit https://www.fortivaretailcredit.com.

American First Finance (AFF) is a leading point of sale “shop now, pay later” solutions provider across 26 verticals, including furniture, mattress, auto repair, tire & wheel, elective medical, and more.  Based in Dallas, TX, AFF’s mission is to provide financial solutions that help ordinary people meet their needs and pursue their dreams.  Learn more call 972.992.3560 or visit www.americanfirstfinance.com. 

For over two decades, Versatile has been a pioneer in the credit optimization space, helping merchants unlock the power of financing to drive sales and help customers get the products they want and need.
With Versatile, customers are seamlessly guided to offers from a full spectrum of lenders and providers and are matched with the offers that best meet their needs. This is possible because merchants can work with over 35 of the nation’s best prime, near-prime, and no-credit-needed providers to find the partners that work best for their business and customers. Our platform ensures every shopper can apply safely and comfortably, whether in-store or online from any device. versatilecredit.com