After launching a home reservation system last year, Taylor Morrison—No. 5 on the 2022 Builder 100—is debuting an enhanced system with an “add to cart” feature to reserve personalized home configurations online. Starting with Eave’s Bend at Artisan Lakes community in Palmetto, Florida, customers will be able to choose beyond lots and floor plans.
"An ability to add to your cart—and modify your cart—is common consumer behavior that hasn't existed in our industry, but we no longer need to be an exception. We're curating an online retail experience for home building," says chief marketing and communications officer Stephanie McCarty.
Following a consumer survey conducted by Wakefield Research, Taylor Morrison found that shoppers became emotionally attached to a home after visually seeing their customizations come to life. This prompted the home builder to enhance features. “Keeping a pulse on how consumers like to shop and adapting to meet their needs is good business," says Taylor Morrison chairman and CEO Sheryl Palmer.
In addition to choosing a home’s exterior, enhancements now include personalizing interiors like kitchen and bathroom backsplashes. Structural options can be selected ranging from an added study to a chef’s kitchen while interior design price levels can be chosen to reveal curated collections that reflect a buyer’s style and budget.
The system also shows an estimated purchase price and monthly payment, which update as selections are made. Prior to adding to cart, customers can see an adjustable itemized list of selections. Taylor Morrison has plans to scale the technology nationwide, starting with additional Florida communities by the end of the year.
To-be-built and spec reservations made through the initial system in the past three months have had a conversion rate of roughly 40%. While millennials have had a slight lead in total reservations, baby boomers and Gen Z are also using the technology.
To learn more about the builder’s buying online system, read the Q+A with Taylor Morrison’s Palmer.
