Why Ecommerce Matters More for Independents Than You Think: Allison Flatjord, Do it Best

What if your website quietly drove five to nine times more sales through your front door than it took online? We sit down with Allison Flatjord, Vice President of Marketing and Ecommerce at Do It Best, to unpack how independent hardware and lumber dealers can use digital to fuel local dominance without losing what makes them unique.

Allison brings a rare blend of engineering rigor and brand instinct from Bath & Body Works and a party supply giant to the built world. She explains why the old way of testing, asking “do you like this?", misses the point, and how watching real usage turns a site into a sales engine. We explore the 80 percent of shoppers who research online before buying in store, the local SEO and inventory signals that turn searches into store visits, and the practical steps to launch fast with a co-op team that handles the heavy lifting.

You’ll hear why the best-performing members showcase their true assortments and niche strengths, think beekeeping gear, lobster pots, or a best-in-town paint bar, so the platform reflects their brand, pricing, and community. We also get personal: marathon lessons, raising twins, and how endurance and curiosity beat shortcuts during digital transformation. The through line is simple: stay obsessed with customer needs, pair tech with human connection, and stack small wins until the flywheel spins.

Topics we cover:
• E-commerce as an in-store sales multiplier
• Data and curiosity as core skills
• Member-first platform design and usability
• Local assortments that keep stores unique
• Research online, buy in-store behavior
• Five to nine times in-store lift from web
• Hands-on onboarding with marketing support
• Endurance mindset for digital change
• Customer obsession over long-term trends
• Balancing tech with personal connection
• Niche category focus to dominate locally

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Chapters

• 0:00 The Ecommerce Multiplier For Store Sales
• 1:40 Show Open And Market Floor Setup
• 2:45 Allison’s Path From Data To Retail
• 5:45 Why Marketing Is More Than A Logo
• 8:20 Joining Do It Best To Lead Digital
• 10:50 Building A Member-First Ecommerce Platform
• 14:55 Local Assortments And Store Independence
• 17:45 Transferable Skills: Data And Curiosity
• 21:45 Changing Habits And Taking The Leap Online
• 25:15 Research Online, Purchase In Store Dynamics

Transcript

Stefanie Couch: 0:00

What if you could increase your in-store sales and your e-commerce sales?

Allison Flatjord: 0:04

That pays it back very quickly. You have to look at how the end user is actually using the product, why the consumer is using the product, and really build all of that into the solution that you ultimately develop.

Stefanie Couch: 0:17

I think a lot about my dad's store and what we could have done if we had implemented just some small marketing. A lot of people think marketing is like logos and colors, but there's such a big part of it that is data focused.

Allison Flatjord: 0:28

And especially in e-commerce, we found that the in-store sales that come from an e-commerce platform are five to nine times the amount of sales that are actually done online. Wow.

Stefanie Couch: 0:41

Do it best is helping with that because you guys know what to look for and you're setting members and dealers up with platforms that are already optimized for the metrics that matter. Welcome to the Grit Blueprint Podcast, the playbook for building unmistakable brands that grow, lead, and last in the built world. I'm Stephanie Couch, the founder of Grit Blueprint, and I'm a lifelong building industry insider. I was raised here, built my career here, and now my team and I help others win here. The truth is, you can be the best option in your space and still lose to someone else who simply shows up better and more consistently. Each week on the Grit Blueprint, I'm going to show you how to stand out, earn trust, and turn your brand into a competitive advantage that lasts. If you're ready to be seen, known, chosen, and become unmistakable, you're in the right place. Let's get started. Welcome to the Grit Blueprint Podcast. I'm your host, Stephanie Couch, and I'm coming to you today, live from the floor, in the middle of the action in Indianapolis. We are actually here at the Do It Best Group Market with Do It Best and True Value. Welcome to the show, Allison. Thank you so much. Happy to be here. I'm really pumped to do this. So you may hear some Fort List in the background because we are actually in the action. We're still setting up for the show. So we're pumped about that. And today we're going to be talking about you and your background. So, what does it take to actually double sales at a fashion brand? You have rebuilt a party supply giant. You have walked into an almost 80-year-old. Now we're celebrating 80 years at do it best hardware and co-op. And you're leading their digital future. And you've been here for two and a half years?

Allison Flatjord: 2:29

Three and a half years. Three and a half years. Well, time flies.

Stefanie Couch: 2:31

I remember meeting you in Orlando the first time in um in the market. So you actually done a lot, and you were the vice president of e-commerce and marketing here at Do It Best Group. And you are proving that basically retail and independent hardware and lumber can win in the e-commerce space against giants. And so I'm pumped to talk about this today. You are an interesting woman. You marathon. Yeah. You have twins. I do. You are running around, I'm sure, all the time with that. But you're doing a lot of cool stuff here. So let's get into it today. I'm excited. Tell me a little bit about your background. So you built this e-commerce brand. Uh, you actually were at Bath Body Works. I was. And then a party supply giant. Yeah. Tell me a little bit about that. How did you get started in that space and kind of what led you there? Because I know you've done a lot in your career.

Allison Flatjord: 3:22

Yeah. I would say so I started out really as a math numbers-focused person. And I went to school for engineering. So started out in my engineering career and really missed kind of that human psychology and kind of that creative side of things. So I worked in brand marketing for a little while and then found that retail actually was the best combination of numbers and kind of that creativity. So that led me to Bath and Body Works, and that was proved in spades. Lots of numbers, lots of data on really anything that you want to know, but also that psychology and that creativity.

Stefanie Couch: 4:03

Yeah, I love that point. I think a lot of people think marketing is like logos and colors, and it is. I mean, that that's a part of it, branding and what you see aesthetically is huge. But there's such a big part of it that is data focused, and especially in e-commerce, which we're going to dive way more into. The numbers matter a lot. And there's a lot of key metrics that maybe some people might not have time to figure out. Do it best is helping with that because you guys know what to look for, and you're setting members and dealers up with platforms that are already optimized for the metrics that matter. So I love that. Tell me a little bit about how you went from Bath and Body Works, you've done the party supply. How did you end up working for the largest co-op in the world?

Allison Flatjord: 4:43

Well, it was a really exciting opportunity. So if you would have asked me, you know, 20 years ago, do I see myself working in hardware? I wouldn't necessarily have said yes. Um, but at the time, I live in Fort Wayne. So I had been speaking with some people from Do It Best, and it was really an opportunity I couldn't refuse. Um, the executive team, Dan Starr, they had all just decided to really commit to working on digital and to building a world-class e-commerce site. And for me, that was a dream job. That was a dream come true to be able to bring e-commerce into Do It Best and to really kind of work in a startup within a larger company. Yeah.

Stefanie Couch: 5:24

So I did that and I've never really looked back. I love hardware. That's awesome. And it's cool that you were already in Fort Wayne. So Do It Best is such a huge place uh in the Fort Wayne downtown and that amazing electric works building. Tell me a little bit about, I've worked in a startup environment in a big company before as well. It's really exciting because you do have the resources of a bigger company, but you also have the nimbleness of a startup. So that's always fun. Tell me a little bit about how did you come to your decision about what platform, how to go to market with this, what members needed. How did that all work?

Allison Flatjord: 5:57

A lot of it was being as member and consumer focused as possible. So one of the things that I learned in my career early on in developing digital products is a lot of times we would do research, and that research would be showing a product to a customer or a user and saying, Do you like this? Yes or no? What do you like about it? What don't you like about it? That really wasn't sufficient. You have to look at how the end user is actually using the product, um, why the consumer is using the product and really build all of that into the solution that you ultimately develop. So we focused a lot on our member experience, our consumer experience, and the actual usage of the site.

Stefanie Couch: 6:40

Yeah, and that's a great point because people don't know what they don't know. Correct. And when you're looking at something, sometimes you can tell something's missing, but you don't know what. And sometimes you can't even tell it's missing until you get through the experience. So I love that you really got hands-on. I'm sure you got a lot of feedback as you're developing and iterated from there. So when you came on, this platform was non-existent. So you said three and a half years. Yeah. We met in Orlando actually, right? You were being introduced on stage for the first market when I was there. I think it was in 2023, maybe I think you were being announced. And uh it's pretty cool to see where you guys have come from now. So tell me a little bit about the members that are using this platform and how it's working for them and sort of how it works for people because you have a really cool distribution model where they don't have to stock millions of items to have millions of items in stock.

Allison Flatjord: 7:28

Yeah. Well, part of the design of our e-commerce product, our platform, was we wanted to make sure that we were highlighting the independence of all of our members. So we didn't want it to look cookie cutter. We wanted to make sure that their assortments, their brand feel, their pricing came through. So a lot of the success that we see with our members are those who are taking full advantage of that. So those that are showing their full assortments that are highlighting something cool that they may have, whether it be lobster pots or, you know, honeybee equipment, um, and just really telling their stories. Yeah. Those have been the members that have been most successful with e-commerce.

Stefanie Couch: 8:09

Yeah. One of the things that I think is really interesting, you're talking about transferring your knowledge from, you know, a bath and body works for selling lotion and candles and all the beautiful things that smell good, to now selling tools and lumber and all these different categories. But I truly believe that skills transfer and they compound. What type of skills did you learn maybe that you didn't see would be as valuable before that now you're going to be able to apply in your day-to-day here and a teacher team, I would think, of, hey, when this happened, you had this experience, now you're able to bring this here. Can you tell me some stories about that?

Allison Flatjord: 8:46

Sure. I would say number one is skills and analysis and data. I think no matter the industry, even if you are a painter, a designer, you're always gonna have numbers, um, whether those numbers are sales, the time it takes you to complete something. So understanding data, understanding numbers is a skill that really transfers. The second one I would say, and I don't know if this is as much a skill as just a personality trait, um, but that's curiosity. Yeah. So I think understanding, you know, coming into a new industry, and I've been in a lot of different um industries, it's it's really getting in there and not assuming that you know anything. It is being very curious, not only about what makes that industry tick, but why it ticks that way. Yeah. Those are the two biggest ones.

Stefanie Couch: 9:33

Well, and I would say with you coming in from an outsider's perspective, it actually challenges a lot of those norms. So I think a lot about my history. So my granddad had a lumberyard in the 60s. My dad had a lumberyard. He opened in 1994 in North Georgia. We started with an ERP. We never never had e-commerce, but we did start in the early 90s with the ERP, which was pretty cutting edge at the time. He was tired of manually doing statements. But there's a lot of ideation here that's been like this for 50 years, 30 years, 20 years. It is hard for people to want to change. And I think some of these technology things are really scary to people. But you have made it easy for people to plug and play with this, which I love. How have you seen first principles thinking of kind of asking, what if we didn't always do it the way we've always done it? Yeah. How have you seen that work and maybe had some success with dealers or members that have done that and really seen like, oh, this was worth the change?

Allison Flatjord: 10:32

I think the the most common thing that I've seen is some of our members um had never really wanted to participate in e-commerce because it wasn't their customers. And um, you know, they they took the leap, they put their product up online. And the first time that they had that huge sale of a $5,000 riding lawnmower online, it really showed them that, hey, even if it's not your existing customers that are buying online, there is a whole universe out there that is. And so being willing to take the leap is really the most important step.

Stefanie Couch: 11:05

Absolutely. And one of the statistics that always wows me is I think it's 80, 80% of people do research beforehand online before they purchase in store. Yeah. So even if they don't actually plug in their credit card and buy it online, they want to be able to see what you have. They want to be able to see what the pricing is sometimes, what the products are, compare and do their research. And I know, like my husband is a super researcher. Okay. So he is gonna do a million times more research than I would, where I'm just gonna go probably buy, you know, the first two or three things I'll look. But those people want the time to go research. So I think that that's a big thing you need to think about is even if the end sale doesn't happen online, the start of the sale is usually happening online 80% of the time.

Allison Flatjord: 11:51

Yeah. And what's interesting, so we actually did, of course, Me Loving Data, we did some testing around this at Do At Best, and we found that the in-store sales that come from an e-commerce platform are five to nine times the amount of sales that are actually done online. So there is a huge in-store benefit to just like you said, um, having that site where people can research the product, learn a little bit about you, see what's in stock. That's crucial.

Stefanie Couch: 12:20

Wow. Five to nine times. That is huge. There are some statistics that you hear and you're like, that can't be real. Yeah. But it is real. It is real. And if you think about the investment, yes, it may take a little time to get this set up and it may, you know, cost a little, but what if you could increase your in-store sales and your e-commerce sales? That pays it back very quickly. It does. So if someone's interested in this, they're, you know, not sure how to get started. How do they get started with do it best with actually setting up their e-commerce store?

Allison Flatjord: 12:50

Yeah. So one of the great things about do it best is we are very hands-on and helping. So we're here to support our members, here to support our retailers. And so really getting with um their consumer marketing specialist, every member has a consumer marketing specialist, they will hold their hand through the whole process and we'll get you set up. Um, we'll set you up with good store practices, um, help you with what type of creative you need, but we'll really help you out with every step.

Stefanie Couch: 13:36

Yeah, I love that because I I talk to a lot of people in the market and I think a lot about my dad's store and what we could have done if we had implemented just some small marketing, even something that's not digital, even something like a mailer or things like that. We just didn't do that. Yeah. And I think a lot about you don't have to really figure out the nuance there because there are a lot of things to figure out in the marketing world, and these people don't really have time to do that usually, and maybe they don't have the money to afford a whole marketing team. They don't have to because do it best in true value, have one with your team that you're setting up for them. So I I really like that, and I think it's a competitive edge that can't be understated that a co-op brings. So it's awesome. And I've been able to work with some of your team, and they're all amazing. And it's fun to watch the members thrive because of this stuff. Yeah, it's great. This episode of the Grit Blueprint Podcast was sponsored by Do It Best Group. Do It Best Group is the largest co-op in the world, and they help independent hardware and lumberyards all over North America win. Do It Best offers services, products, and people that can help you win long term. They are the champion of independence. So let's go to a little more personal note. You actually came and spoke on a panel that I had in Las Vegas in February, and you mentioned to me that you are a mother of twins. Yes. And we talked a little bit about the challenges and the blessings of having children and working and doing all the things. You also run marathons. So you also have a challenge uh mentality in your work life and your home life. Tell me a little bit about what marathon running and tell me how you even got into that and having twins. What has that taught you about resilience and going through things in life that maybe are challenging?

Allison Flatjord: 15:24

Well, I think the first thing that both of those things taught me is I've always thought that I needed nine hours of sleep every night to function. That is definitely not the case anymore. So getting along without sleep is one of those things. Yeah. Um, you know, really everything that I do, um, I want to make sure that I'm a great role model. My twins are both girls, so I want them to see that working hard pays off, being kind pays off, and really going after something that you think that you may never be able to do, which was a marathon for me. Yeah. Um, that pays off as well. I love that. How old are the girls? They just turned 16. Oh, wow. Two cars at one time. Two cars at one time. Two drivers. That's why you're not sleeping, thinking about that. Exactly. Exactly.

Stefanie Couch: 16:14

What are tell me a little bit about what they're like? I mean, I'm curious. Are they are they out there? Because I know we talked before a little bit. I remember you telling me that they they believe that you can do anything because they've watched you be able to do that, which I think just resonates so deeply with me. So, what what do the girls like to do that they challenge themselves with?

Allison Flatjord: 16:33

They are huge athletes. Okay. So while I may run, if you put a racket in my hand or a ball in my hand, I can do nothing. Um, but for them, they just love that challenge. Um, I remember them saying to me, I want to play volleyball someday, but I don't know if I'd be good enough, whatever. And, you know, try it, see how you do. And they're doing great. They're both on volleyball teams, they're both really athletic, and that's taught them some of the grit, yes, um, some of the persistence that you need to succeed in life.

Stefanie Couch: 17:03

Yeah, I played softball growing up, and um, I think team sports or even like team activities. I was also in a super competitive choir. There's a certain amount of that that translates so much. And I love hiring athletes because they have that competitive spirit, which is the hunger.

Allison Flatjord: 17:20

Yes.

Stefanie Couch: 17:20

And also, I do think the curiosity a lot of times comes with that that question of can I do this, can I fail, or can I win at this? You don't know. Yeah, but you're gonna go out and try either way. Tell me about the marathon. So, have you how many of these have you run? And what's that you just decided I want to see if I can prove myself that I can run 26.2 miles? Is that right? 26 foot two? Okay.

Allison Flatjord: 17:42

Yes. I think um, you know, I had always been a runner. So even, you know, in fifth grade, I like to just run around. Um, but for me, I never thought of myself as an athlete or the the idea of running as far as somebody would drive, um, was like, there's no way that I will ever do that. And so just the more that I got into it, I started thinking, why not? Um, I really enjoyed running longer. I really enjoyed the challenge of, you know, can I make it this far? Yeah. And it was kind of little success built on little success. So as soon as I hit, I think 16 miles, I was like, well, 10 miles more isn't that much harder. So why not do a marathon? So it was definitely trying to build up my confidence um and my endurance. Um, than running a marathon. Yeah.

Stefanie Couch: 18:33

I've read a lot of people that do that, read a lot of books and things about that. And they say, you know, if you can just think about one more step or one more mile. And I do think there's a lot of lessons that come into like for me in entrepreneurship. It's kind of like that. If I can just get to next week, get to next month, and you do turn around. Like, I mean, I was thinking about as you said that, that you've been here three and a half years and we met almost three years ago. And it feels like so so much has happened in that time, but it's been three years. Yeah. What happens in three years can just be so exponential if you just think about it one little goal at a time. Exactly. If you start to think about it as a three-year period, it gets overwhelming. So I think that endurance is something that you mentally have to have, but having it physically, kudos to you, because it's a long time to run.

Allison Flatjord: 19:25

Well, what's funny is um it does really parallel a digital transformation because even though you build a great e-commerce site, yeah, there's so much more that goes into you know thinking digital first, into behaving that way, into getting all of your systems aligned so that they can be successful on digital. So, and there have been setbacks along the way, just when I was running and you know, had a terrible run, but you got to keep going with the end in sight.

Stefanie Couch: 19:53

Well, and I think something about setbacks that's really interesting, and a lot of the really big entrepreneurs in the world, like Bezos and people like Tim Tim Cook and Apple, they talk about some of the biggest things that happened that were positives actually came from some epic failure that was unexpected and really was not good when it happened. Yeah. And it started to make them think about something differently that maybe they didn't see or a blind spot. You know, you hope the rocket doesn't explode to build a better rocket, but sometimes it does get dinged up. And I think that's a great lesson. Allison, you have seen companies that have grown fast, and you've probably seen some that have stalled out or maybe gone out of existence. I know there's a lot of those. What is a story of one that you have seen like nail it and really hit it out of the park long term versus somebody that didn't and what makes the difference in those two things?

Allison Flatjord: 20:44

Yeah, so usually when you read stories in the news or you work for a company that might not necessarily make it, when you get to the bottom of it, a lot of it is there's a lack of customer focus. So you forget who you're serving. Um, you kind of veer off the path of what really matters to your customers. I think the converse is true for those who do make it. And a little plug for do it best. We're celebrating our 80th birthday this year, which is amazing. And really the secret to our longevity, um, I've only been here for three years of it, but but this was evident to me, is how much we really focus on serving our members the way that they want to be served. And really we're here to support them and help them grow their business. Yeah. And that's that's been just great for the company.

Stefanie Couch: 21:31

Yeah, absolutely. I I think you have to be obsessed with your customer. And like you said, what do they want and need to be successful themselves? And that shifts over time. I mean, I'm certain that 80 years ago, I I'm not a math whiz like you, but 80 years ago, whatever that was, um, there were people that wanted something totally different than what they need now. And I'm sure there were a lot more newspaper ads. Yeah. Uh, but you know, it's funny how things come back around because print is actually doing really well right now as well. Yeah. So it's really cool how life happens like that. But 80th anniversary, we're having a big celebration here at Market Um 80s attire, hopefully included. Of course. I'm hoping to see some good mullets. Well, I want to end on one last question for you. If you could leave our audience with one story and talk a little bit about where the hardware and building industry is going, because I do see a shift happening pretty quickly, especially with a lot of the competitive environment and the acquisitions that are happening. Where is it heading and how can people independence win in this environment in the future?

Allison Flatjord: 22:35

So, what's funny is um, you mentioned that I worked for Bath and Body Works. And in the world of lotions and mall stores, that was actually a pretty big retailer. And one of the things that we always drooled over is smaller businesses because they have that emotional connection with their customers. Yeah. They knew their customers, and that was something that we just could not replicate. And immediately in moving into the hardware industry, I saw how those relationships were really what the driver of the industry is, and they're so important. So I do see, of course, I'm in technology, I do see our industry getting more tech focused, but not at the expense of that personal connection. So I think the the retailers that can balance those two things are the ones that gonna that are gonna win in the hardware industry in the future. Yeah, you nailed it on that.

Stefanie Couch: 23:27

I think we have to create customer experiences and raving fans. And like you said, it's hard to do that with a mall store. Abercrombie and Fitch did a pretty good job in the 1990s and the early 2000s. They're back too. They are, but I do think it's hard to do that with a bigger chain. It's easier when you walk in and you know someone's face. When I have places, and I think a lot of people do that I went when I was a kid that I have this like emotional nostalgia to, and even places now that I just love going. And it's almost always a small local business. And you know that smiling face when you walk in the door. So there's nothing, I don't think they can replace that. No. And if people will lean into that and I think niche down and really own a category or two in their store, like maybe they're awesome at grills, maybe they crush it at Lawn and Garden, maybe they're really great at paint, whatever it is that your category needs in your market, I think that's how they dominate. Yeah. So I love it. Yeah. Well, that's a great answer. That fires me up. All right. Well, thank you so much for joining me on the show and have a great market. Thank you. Thank you for listening to the Grit Blueprint Podcast. If this episode helped you think a little differently about how to show up, share it with someone in your building world who needs it. If you're ready to turn visibility into growth, then head to gritblueprint.com to learn more and book a call to talk to us about your growth strategy. Until next time, stay unmistakable.