Cha-ching! (12-13)

Hastings Nature & Garden Center in Peachtree Corners, Ga., markets more than 20,000 plants and decorative items -- and for many of those, all a customer has to do to obtain them is point and click.

Hastings-to-Go! is the company's online store, and it offers practically every decorative or hard good a gardener needs to be successful, from the lifestyle "fixins" such as trellises, arbors and furniture to the tools it takes to craft the ideal garden retreat. And the decoratives? They run the gamut, as well, from garden art and gazing balls to classic ironwork planters and holiday accents.

Once a customer decides what she wants after perusing the various categories online, where bullet-point product info, images and prices are listed (along with more detailed data should she be interested), she can add the item to her shopping cart, push the pay button, and in a few days she'll have what she ordered delivered to her home.

The e-commerce element is just one way Hastings sets its self apart from the competition. But considering its ease of use and vast assortment of products, it's definitely a branding element that holds big "Cha-ching!" potential for this great garden center.

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