As Mohawk gears up for its annual Mohawk Edge Summit, taking place in Denver, Colorado, on December 16-19, 2024, there are a number of exciting things planned for its Edge-aligned dealers. Mohawk’s goal with its Edge program is to provide its dealers with the leverage needed to be successful. One key benefit that continues to drive dealer success is Mohawk's strategic partnership with Synchrony, offering flexible financing solutions that benefit both retailers and their customers.

“Most of our Edge dealers are smaller independent retailers,” said Doug Ensley, senior director of residential market development, Mohawk. “What we can offer them is the power of Mohawk’s ‘biggness’ to help them negotiate better rates, which we think we do.”  

The Mohawk/Synchrony co-branded credit card not only provides consumers with competitive rates but also benefits the Edge dealers’ push to increase business. According to Ensley, the co-branded card reminds shoppers where they made their flooring purchase, which encourages them to return to that store.  

Dealers who utilize the co-branded card are part of the Synchrony Home network. Consumers can shop at any Synchrony Home retailer. For instance, anyone with the co-branded card can utilize it at any home goods retailer bearing the Synchrony Home logo and vice versa, increasing the number of consumers that enter Mohawk’s dealer stores.  

“In general, we see 16% of our dealers cross-shopping, meaning they originated somewhere else but made a subsequent purchase elsewhere,” said Vince Lowe, senior VP and general manager of home specialty and flooring at Synchrony. “So, that’s within the home improvement space and the do-it-for-me space installations.” 

Both Ensley and Lowe point out that 82% of shoppers start their buying journey online while 34% research financing options. “A significant number of folks are not only looking to purchase flooring, but they’re also looking at how am I going to pay for it,” said Ensley.  

Synchrony now offers a way for consumers to pre-qualify prior to purchasing without a hard hit to their credit. According to Lowe, direct-to-device technology allows consumers to apply for credit using their own device to get an idea of how much they have to work with right then.  

“We want to make it easy for the consumer to choose their path but ultimately come back to our partners for the purchase,” said Lowe.  

To ensure consumers return to those retailers within the Synchrony Home network, the firm is evolving its financing options in specific locations to accommodate larger home improvement projects. 

“We’ve been really aggressive with our underwriting, trying to better understand what the consumer is purchasing so we can have credit limits that are more in line with consumer demand,” Lowe said. “For those small flooring dealers or mid-sized dealers who are offering kitchen and bath products or a whole kitchen makeover—cabinetry, things like that—we've identified those dealers and have subsequently changed our underwriting in those locations to make sure that they have the types of credit lines they’re going to need for those bigger jobs.”  

Synchrony further supports Mohawk Edge dealers through its various reports. According to Ensley, Mohawk Edge offers its aligned dealers a portal to access marketing insights and Synchrony consumer reports.  

“[Synchrony’s report] is a cornerstone to the Edge program,” he said. “We look at that as one of our sources of truth about what the independent retailer is doing and how people are shopping and the decision funnel that they make; they start out online and they move all the way to [the] in-store purchase.”  

To ensure its Edge dealers have everything needed to provide a seamless in-store shopping experience, Mohawk is revamping its Edge Stores for 2025. 

According to Ensley, the Edge Store layout is imperative to the success of the shopping experience. To start, Mohawk products are displayed near the front of the store so that is the first thing shoppers see upon entering. Next, the products on display match what consumers see online. Finally, Mohawk is launching kiosks that allow consumers to search for the products they see online, and they will be able to apply for Synchrony financing as well, simplifying the buying process.  

“All that consumer choice is where we’re really driving and creating those marketplaces for consumers to go and find the products and services they want that are linked to a Synchrony product,” said Lowe. “That’s our push right now to put more power in the hands of the consumer but to the benefit of our partners.”  

Mohawk plans to expand its education offerings and launch a revamped Mohawk University at the Mohawk Edge Summit. Synchrony will be on hand to answer any questions that Edge dealers might have about the benefits of utilizing its many financing options and business solutions. 

Listen to the podcast with Doug Ensley on the Mohawk and Synchrony Partnership.

Listen to the podcast with Vince Lowe on Consumer Shopping Trends and the Future of Retail.