Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM NOVEMBER 2018 54 E very day, in every city and town across the U.S., people are faced with a broken dishwasher or dryer. They may have attempted to have it fixed, or it may be 10 years old and they're ready to throw in the towel and buy a new one. These shoppers make up the bulk of appliance customers today, and very rarely will they wait for a special promotional offer to come around. They are faced with a need right now, so how can the independent dealer channel serve this consumer? It all starts with being found online. More than ever, consumers start their decision journey online. In fact, 90% of today's consumers say that their first step in the purchase process is to go online. From there, they visit between 5 and 15 websites before they make their final decision. Put yourself in their shoes and think how you would approach replacing your 10-year-old dryer. More than likely, you and I would start searching for a particular brand, and more than likely, it would be the same brand that's sitting in our home today. We then look at the new models, check price points, watch videos, look at pictures and read reviews from other customers. Those reviews may point us to look at other brands as a comparison, and then before you know it we're reading more reviews. Once we settle on the model we like, it's all about price and who has it in stock. YES, IT'S ABOUT PRICE AND AVAILABILITY. Research shows us that digital drives in-store traffic. But what exactly is it that drives the customer from sitting at home researching to driving to the store? Price and availability. 75% of customers today say they want to see what the price is at that store, and then 74% say they want to see what product is actually available. Wow – that's 3 out of every 4 people who use these two factors to make a buying decision. But today, there are still many retailers that won't price online for fear that their price may be higher than another local competitor. Our stance is this – if you aren't pricing online, consumers are automatically discounting you as an option because they perceive your price IS too high. With tools like Retail Deck, it's too easy today to price your products online and still remain competitive and within compliance. The other key factor most often ignored is availability. For a duress shopper, they need something they can get today or tomorrow. Most won't wait a week or more to get a new appliance, when the one they have at home is on the fritz. How can you make it easier during their online decision phase to meet this need? For starters, consider how you can tag merchandise that you have in stock. WebFronts has the ability to create custom tags like "In Stock", "Next Day Delivery" or any message you want to show. The key to this is to tag the merchandise that you have in stock on your website. This may force you to stock up on some of your best sellers or pieces at key price points. The other message to really push online is your delivery and installation options. I recently asked a handful of our appliance retailers if they offer same-day or next-day delivery. The answer was a resounding yes from everyone. Then I asked if they advertised that. Well, sadly enough, the answer was the opposite—most did not. If you offer same- or next-day delivery, shout it from the rooftops and proudly display it. But doing that doesn't mean that it doesn't cost more. You can attach a premium fee to this service for the convenience factor, and in most cases, duress customers won't bat an eye. While we tend to move from one promotional period to another, we can't miss out on the shopper who fills our stores day-in and day-out. The duress shopper needs to easily find you online, see what you have to offer, what your prices are, and what's in stock. With a few simple steps, the independent appliance retailer can absolutely win with the duress shopper. WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO WIN THE DURESS SHOPPER? MIssy Hodges Appliance Trends Missy Hodges, Vice President of Appliances MEGA Group USA RO

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