E-Learning: An online tool for dealers and sales consultants

Energy efficiency plays an increasingly important role for customers in their purchasing decisions. The e-learning "Top Runner Training" online tool helps specialist retailers become more proficient in sales consulting.

The EU energy label is an important factor for 84 percent of consumers when making a purchasing decision. However, only 16 percent of customers actually buy an appliance or device in the best energy efficiency class. Through giving proper guidance, specialist retailers can offer customers an added benefit. The „Top-Runner-Training“ online tool by the National Top Runner Initiative (NTRI), from the Federal Ministry of Economics, helps bring retailers and sales consultants up to speed on the topic of energy efficiency.

The e-learning tool focuses on motivation, the fun of learning - and success. Specialised salespeople who are familiar with energy-efficient appliances are able to inform customers on their advantages while leading them to the best product purchase. The tool provides compact knowledge modules on refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers, and lighting. It also works on mobile devices such as smartphones, while time and place can be flexibly selected. The tool can therefore be easily integrated into everyday working life; one can save their progress in their own account and test it with a quiz. At the end, the participants receive a certificate that identifies them as efficiency experts.

NTRI informs consumers when purchasing energy-efficient household appliances and raises awareness on their energy-saving usage, while also supporting retailers, manufacturers and other stakeholders with information and events. The initiative is carried out on behalf of the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) by a consortium of Edelman.ergo, Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM, Wuppertal Institute and the Austrian Energy Agency, under the direction of adelphi.