Local e-commerce firm WebLinc doubles sales for retail lighting site

In the world of residential lighting sales, online retail is a small piece of a much bigger pot. But thanks to some Philadelphia technology, a major retail lighting outlet is focusing more effort online and seeing impressive returns.
Old City-based WebLinc, which is housed above National Mechanics — the bar that the web developers also own — recently helped Southeast U.S. lighting company Progressive Lighting launch an e-commerce platform to show off its extensive selection of lighting.
Since the launch of LightsOnline.com in April WebLinc’s e-commerce technology has increased conversion by 91 percent, doubling online sales, Progressive Lighting director of e-commerce Jon Eggleton says.

Progressive has been in business in the Southeast since 1965, and first launched a web initiative, designed by a different development company, in the spring of last year. But the site wasn’t exploding with sales, and Eggleton joined the team later that summer — his expertise in e-commerce and online marketing — and he began putting together an RFP for a more scalable redesign. Progressive was looking for a platform that allowed for more automation and offered a better design, more reflective of their brand.
And that’s when they found Philadelphia’s WebLinc.
“We hired a Philadelphia company after going through a pretty complete review process,” Eggleton says. “They’ve built some expertise in e-commerce sites. It felt like they had the best solution for what we were looking for.”
Now, the site offers customer-oriented navigation filters to help someone sift through their selection of 15,000 products, whether they’re looking for contemporary lights, ceiling lights, or any other of the myriad of options.
WebLinc’s technology also integrates with Progressive’s inventory system, so new products are automatically added to the web site.
Since launching with the new tech, LightsOnline receives about 25,000 visits per month, and Eggleton says that’s growing fast. “Online sales are very small compared to the rest of our company, but it has great potential for us,” he says.