Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM JULY 2016 48 E —commerce or online-retailing continues to grow. The U.S. Commerce Department estimates that online sales exceeded $300 billion in 2015 which was up 15 percent over 2013. You would think and believe that this fact alone is describing a steady path to the destruction of brick and mortar stores selling consumer electronics. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) www.icsc.org, 78% of consumers would rather shop in-store rather than online, given a choice. Well, who really knows? After all, this is an organization promoting retail real estate. Never the less, there is validity to the belief that some significant share of consumers do still prefer the in-store shopping experience. The challenge to us as independent retailers is how to go about blending the experience of e-commerce and traditional retail shopping. MARKETPLACE RELEVANCE In three sentences or less, can you describe your business and what value (or relevance) it brings to your market? It's worth a good amount of thought. What differentiates you in the marketplace compared to other businesses who sell the same products as you (including e commerce retailers)? Ask yourself, your employees, your families and most importantly—your customers. If the response is favorable and capable of driving consumers to your store, promote it. Promote it in all of your advertising, your website, social media, etc. If the honest response is not favorable or capable of driving more consumers to your door, then you need to spend time reworking your perception in your market. One way to keep the customers walking into your store is to consider the ever changing category of consumer electronics. By keeping up with trends you can help your business appear relevant in your market. What products are you featuring on your floors and shelves? Do you carry any items from today's hot list of most popular devices? An immediate come to mind category is drones. The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) reports that drone sales in 2014 reached $299 million dollars. 2015 is expected to close out at more than $350 million dollars only to further increase in 2016. While drones are a heavy favorite online purchase product, their popularity at retail has grown. If a category is hot, it's hot! It will "play" in any point of sale environment. Just show a half dozen models from entry level price points to better, set-up versions and watch them sell. Promoting drones will add fresh level of interest to your business with new consumers. Home Technology continues to lead the way in fastest growing consumer electronics categories. Exponentially larger than drones, home technology has widespread mass appeal to EVERY homeowner in America. We've all learned from extensive marketing campaigns from literally every cable and phone company that it's not just about theft and fire alarms anymore. Consumers enjoy the peace of mind of being able to visually inspect their homes both inside and out from anywhere in the world. Locking and unlocking doors; seeing who is ringing their doorbells and more. There is an entire market just for keeping an eye on our aging mom's and dad's who insist on living independently even though they should have some watchful assistance. Consumers are realizing that with proper control over their heating and air conditioning systems they can maintain comfort while saving enough money month to month that can even pay for the home automation system! The category is HOT and growing steadily. What's more, a recent CTA survey of consumers intending to incorporate this technology into their homes reports that 38% expect to purchase a system from companies such as ADT. The exciting news is that the second largest group of consumers plan to buy from a retail store - perhaps just like yours! These are just a couple of examples for you to ponder. Bottom line is; by keeping an eye on hot trends and categories and carefully embracing and incorporating them into your product mix you can maintain a steady flow of traffic while keeping your business relevant in your market. BUILD TRAFFIC WITH CONSUM ER ELECTRONICS TRENDS Jim Sendrak Consumer Electronic Trends Jim Sendrak EVP – Marketing & Electronics Divisions MEGA Group USA RO

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