Years ago when I worked on the client side rather than the agency side, I was a merchandising manager for a CE corporation. CE retail chains were many and varied back then. I'm talking about when CompUSA, Circuit City, and independent dealers and lots of VARs were around. The industry was changing rapidly so I took a seminar focusing on retail merchandising and the CE industry. The speaker suggested we take a look at how grocery stores do things. I walked through stores and made casual observations like how they would pair chips with salsa on an end aisle display or place huge pallets of beer and pretzels the week-end before the Super Bowl. Why weren't we using these simple strategies?
I went to a CompUSA and noted that the ink and paper was clear across the store from the compatible printers. Why make the customer walk all the way over there to get something the store and the manufacturer made a huge margin on? I also noted that extra memory for computers was found across the store from where the computers were displayed. I talked to our buyer but there was no swaying their mind or the planogram. Consumables and accessories would stay on that side of the store and hardware would stay on the other side of the store. Don't put peanut butter in my chocolate!
Fast forward about 15 years. My how things have changed. Do CE retailers have it dialed in as well as grocery stores? No, but at least the ink and paper is near the printers. You can also make an impulse purchase of a gift card, gum or phone case at the checkout. During back to school week there are end aisle displays catering to students and their parents. Even packaging has stepped up its appearance in the CE store. Boring white and brown craft boxes have given way to 4-color litho-laminated boxes, different shaped blister packs and unique packaging options. (A jam jar for a wireless speaker for example.)
Now that on-line purchases are making up more of the revenue for CE stores how are they going to get people back shopping at the brick-and-mortar stores? Grocery stores deliver to your door from an on-line order form but they also understand that people will purchase more product in-store. Major chains have made grocery shopping an experience. Look at Whole Foods, Trader Joes and Gelson's. Even the larger chains like Ralphs, Vons and Meijers have changed their in-store ambiance to make shopping a visual and olfactory experience. (Granted, they also put things in odd areas of the store so you have to search for them. The longer you are in the grocery store, the more you will buy.)
My hope is that the CE retailers continue to make strides that make shopping an experience and continue to borrow ideas from grocery stores. Here is what I would like to see: 1) Knowledgeable sales people that can really help you make a decision and understand the technology. Consider the store manager at your grocery that can help you pick out that perfect bottle of wine for a special dinner. 2) Make it easier to try and sample the product. Just like the representatives who hand out tasty bites of food while you shop at the grocery store, have representatives from manufacturers who really know their product come to the store and demonstrate their product and field questions more often. 3) Manufacturers use detailers to make sure their product is merchandised correctly, but the store should care about this too. The end aisle displays in grocery stores are usually well maintained by detailers who visit the store frequently but store employees are also tasked with keeping displays in order at grocery stores. I rarely see a well appointed display in CE stores (Unless it is Apple).
Make going to the store an experience and worth leaving home!
Patty Jensen
Patty Jensen is a VP of Account Services at JDA Inc, a graphic design firm
that specializes in supporting companies' branding and retail efforts
with a Unified Marketing approach. To learn more, click here.
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