Merchant Spotlight: Children's Bedding Boutique

Q: What led you to start an online children's bedding business?

Nick Rodriguez: My background comes from working in the web industry and dealing specifically with online stores. I have always been interested in online marketing and advertising which naturally progressed into building a website of my own. I chose childrens bedding because of a partnership I had developed with a drop ship company.

Q: Children's bedding has evolved a great deal -- how have styles progressed over the years to keep up with newer trends?

Nick: Traditionally childrens bedding has been specific themes from sports, pirates, and cowboys, to ladybugs, butterflies and dragonflies. Most of the newer bedding we carry is more pattern based, moving away from specific themes towards more modern colors and designs. Many of the paterns we carry would look good in any room, not just babies or kids.

Q: What are parents looking for nowadays in terms of bedding fashion for their children?

Nick: Ultimately parents are choosing bedding sets that will create a fun living environment for their kids. At the same time I think parents are looking for bedding that is not only fun for the kids but fun for themselves.

Q: How do you select the products that are offered in your store?

Nick: We choose quality items that arent typically found in large retail stores but are still popular online. We do not carry the more commercial bedding sets like Spongebob or Disney characters. Researching products on blogs and forums is a great way to find out what brands people are talking about then developing relationships with those companies.

Q: Apart from bedding products, what other children's furniture has been most popular?

Nick: Wooden wall letters are a big seller, it seems that parents really enjoy spelling their childrens names on the wall.

Q: What methods do you use to promote the store and let potential customers know about your products and any specials you have going on?

Nick: Most of our promotion is done through the search engines. Building links and a strong online reputation is key to driving traffic to the website. We also utilize online advertising through Google AdWords and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Q: What kind of feedback have seen following customer purchases? How has this impacted your online store?

Nick: As with any business, customer service is always number one. Following up with emails and phone calls in a timely manner can go a long way to keep customers coming back. Making yourself easily available to customers both before and after the sale is a critical aspect of having a successful online store.

Q: How do you see your store changing or growing in the near future?

Nick: We are continuing to add new products everyday and are continuously marketing the website. Eventually we would like to move into higher end boutique style bedroom furniture.