After cutting in on the home improvement segment controlled by Bunnings Warehouse, Masters, the joint venture between Woolworths and US home improvement chain Lowe’s, has launched what it claims to be another customer service first, with the ‘ultra-handy’ new Masters Home Improvement iPhone app for renovators.

The hero feature is its ‘Chat Now’ functionality that offers real-time customer service.

Director of Masters, Melinda Smith explains the functionality: “We’ve taken the innovation of our popular in-store customer service buttons, where a staff member will respond within one minute of being called, and moved it into the digital world,” she says.

Aside from the hero in Chat Now, the app also features:

• Product Finder: where users shop for more than 30,000 products and search through 19 categories to buy on the spot
• Projects: a practical library of ‘how-to’ videos, articles, and step-by-step instructions on a range of projects
• Scanner: a price comparison tool
• Inspire Me: a trend-spotting device
• Store Finder: find the nearest store, how to get there and opening hours
• Featured Products: all the best products handpicked by experts.

Smith explains how there is “nothing like it in the market” and harbours dreams that this app will “soon become a must-have for anyone looking to make their DIY or home project as fuss-free and successful as possible”.

In the app space, market leader Bunnings has three apps, each for a single function: a store-finder, a paint calculator and a flooring calculator. The all-in-one functionality of Masters’ app, as well as the chat function, will no doubt be a boost to its drive to differentiate based on customer service.