Retail Strategies in Consumer Electronics: Breaking Down the Strategies of the World’s Largest Retailers
Consumer electronics is arguably one of the most competitive markets out there. Product life cycles are constantly shortening, with consumers eager to purchase the next “big thing” in tech almost as soon as it hits the shelves. Consumers are more educated, and hold higher expectations, than ever before.
It’s this never-ending refresh of product releases that has many different companies in competition for the small amount of available footprint in store. Physical retailers face a multitude of challenges in a landscape that’s always being reshaped by innovation and change:
The average U.S. customer is more frugal and more sophisticated
Price wars between three distinct retail trade formats: discount, pure play, and online
The online retailer’s competitive advantage
Ever-changing consumer preferences
Strategies retailers use to overcome these challenges
Major retailers in the U.S. are adopting strategies to protect them from “The Amazon Effect” - the idea that consumer love for Amazon is breaking down physical retailers. Instead, brick-and-mortar stores are offering consumers unique experiences that online retailers can’t.
1. Create immersive & engaging customer experiences
The only way to encourage customers to make a trip to the store to buy their next electronic is to provide an experience they can’t get online. Retailers are exploring ways to entertain customers by providing more immersive experiences - think VR, AR and other ways digital technology can make shopping more meaningful.
The rise of entertainment not only encourages more sales, but it triggers in-store shoppers to share their experience on social media, becoming free customer-generated marketing for brands.
2. Inspire consumers
Consumer electronic brands are basing their strategies around the fact that consumers tend to be passionate about their products - an advantage that can’t be underestimated. Apple, for example, is a leader in the experience economy. Apple stores have become a place to learn; consumers will happily spend extended periods of time playing with products and learning new ways to use them, in the build-up to the purchase decision.
Retailers have to find ways to arouse curiosity and deliver meaningful, useful information in place of marketing fluff to really get an edge.
3. Blurring the line between offline & online
We can’t stop consumers from shopping online, but we can deliver a unified experience that blends the two mediums and makes the in-store shopping process as modern as the products you sell. People are shopping online to save time, but they also enjoy the personalized experience that comes with purchasing big-ticket items such as electronics from a real sales assistant.
Consider ways to compliment offline & online: having a clear, easy-to-use product page on your website, and then having the product clearly displayed in store, and set up to be able to use so the customer can get a hands-on experience. Most importantly, always ensure a seamless transition of your messaging between every medium.
Downsize without sacrificing success
Powerful Displays works with ambitious brands to provide a POP design that is compact and small in size, but with the features that make it stand out in store. Don’t sacrifice your brand’s success in store; get more out of your display with cutting-edge tech that is a fit for the innovative products you sell.