dealerscope

Earlier this week,   Nationwide Marketing Group   announced that it has been awarded with a   2023 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award . This is the 9th year in a row that the buying group has been given the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award. On the topic of the award, Frank Sandtner, senior director of business and financial services for Nationwide said in the company’s press release: “This is an honor that is a direct result of the attention and care our members show to the ENERGY STAR program and their passion to not only stock but also push their shoppers towards purchasing those products that are ENERGY STAR Certified.” In other news, Bowers & Wilkins has unveiled a new Sage Green finish for its Pi5 S2 headphones. Tactfully released just days before the start of earth month, the Sage Green color scheme will add to the brand’s widest range of headphone colors, which already features Cloud Grey, Storm Gr...

  Coffee and tea enthusiasts have probably at some time come across the company  Fellow . It’s a popular maker and seller of high-end brewing equipment, such as kettles that hold their precisely set temperatures for extended periods of time, and  today it has announced  perhaps the most high-end — and high-tech — of electric kettles. The new Stagg EKG Pro can adjust for altitude so the water inside doesn’t boil over, schedule a set time to begin heating and set presets for various types of coffee or tea. The Stagg EKG Pro Studio Edition does all that with a fancier, metal-and-glass design. Launching this month, the EKG Pro starts at $195 and the EKG Pro Studio Edition starts at $225. In other news, yesterday the European Parliament approved a law that will  require devices to use a USB-C  charging port by the end of 2024. While some devices already charge using USB-C, one of the most talked about companies that will have to adapt to this law is Apple. Apple...

It’s hard to believe that we’re already at the start of Q2 this year, but there’s still plenty to think about strategically in the coming months. For the rest of the year, the most important resolve is to learn about the following areas to improve the customer experience and beat out the competition. Here are several technology areas to review and add to your plans for 2022. 1) Understand the products as part of the customer journey. The need to create a better customer experience for the coming year is a hot topic. With the number of options available for consumers when purchasing technology products, it is up to retailers to set themselves apart from the competitors by not only understanding the technology trends and the products, but also how to provide the best customer journey possible.   Since there are numerous options when it comes to making technology purchases, not only in brands, but also options of where to buy, understanding the products is vital. Understa...

  THE DAILY SCOPE, 4/4/2022: The grocery and CPG retail business is often a harbinger of things to come – maybe it’s just because everyone buys food, even non-TV households – so it’s a good place to gauge the mood of consumers. After a pandemic that started with shortages of household goods like toilet paper and cleaning supplies, the current lineup of basics isn’t exactly flying off the shelves. The Wall St. Journal reports that consumers are returning to store brands and buying smaller quantities of everything from laundry detergent to cereal. With shortages during the pandemic, many retailers upped their production on in-store brands, so that move dovetails nicely with the need for more affordable products. There is no indication that this trend is particularly rampant in the CE retail sector, but the category most likely to be enticing for consumers looking to save money could be accessories like cables, power solutions, and power adapters. This could be a g...

As we all know, the pandemic put a major strain on retailers’ inventory capacities and led to a series of shortages that have plagued the industry for the past two years. But, how was an industry that is so often on the cutting edge of technology and business strategy crippled by one of its most basic tenets: getting products to customers? According to Nikki Baird, Vice President of Strategy at Apos, the typical retailer only keeps roughly 30 percent of its inventory reserved for eCommerce. In an interview with Forbes , Baird went on to say that, “for nonessential retailers that didn’t have omnichannel systems and processes in place, when their stores were temporarily closed and e-commerce volumes skyrocketed, all they had available to sell was the limited inventory sitting in their e-commerce warehouses. Once that stock ran out, if they didn’t have the ability to tap into their store inventory, they were left with virtually nothing to sell.” In other news, Ring, ...

  A recent survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce found that the United States is facing a daunting shortage of semiconductor chips , which are used to manufacture cars, electronics, medical devices, and other products. At the moment, median inventory among chip consumers in the U.S. is down to just five days from 40 days prior to the start of the pandemic. This means that if something unforeseen were to happen to current chip production, such as another COVID-19 outbreak, most companies would only be able to manufacture products for 5 days before being forced to shut down.  Between 2019 and 2021, demand for chips has grown a whopping 17 percent while the supply of chips saw no relative growth. Increasing chip-making capacity is a process that requires significant amounts of lead times and financial investment. For example, Intel has announced that it is investing $20 billion to create chip plants in Ohio, but the factories are only set to begin...

  THE DAILY SCOPE, 1/19/22: BodyGuardz, a device protection solutions provider, released its new Pure 3 screen protector for the Apple iPhone 13. According to BodyGuardz, it is the first and only screen protector to be awarded the Green Product Mark by TÜV Rheinland . The Pure 3 is made up of 30 percent recycled glass and is five times stronger than the stand-alone phone screen. BodyGaurdz also utilizes post-consumer recycled cardboard and biodegradable components in its packaging of the Pure 3 to make sure that every aspect of the wrapping can be curbside recycled . The Green Product Mark certification by TÜV Rheinland is based on three areas of criterion: Prevention of pollution, sustainable use of resources, and climate change mitigation. TÜV Rheinland only awards the certification to companies that responsibly manage their energy usage as well as their air and water pollution footprint. The Green Product Mark is recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection A...

  THE DAILY SCOPE, 11/18/21: If the proliferation of drugstores on nearly every other corner gets you down, then you’ll be happy to know that CVS will be closing 900 locations over the next three years. It’s part of parent company CVS Health’s strategy to transform its brick-and-mortar retail stores from being merely pharmacies that also sell sundries, consumer packaged goods, groceries, batteries, chargers, cables, cameras, and other small electronics into bonafide medical health facilities.  Remaining stores will be reimagined and redesigned as HealthHUBs where consumers can see their primary care physicians and mental health specialists and get diagnostic tests. Suddenly Abbott President and CEO Robert Ford’s keynote at CES 2022 doesn’t seem so out of place, because a big part of retail’s future will also be healthcare. It’ll be interesting to see how CVS implements self-check-out style technology for diagnostics—that only seems like a matter of time as increasingly telemed...

THE DAILY SCOPE, 11/16/21: No surprise to anyone in the CE or appliance retail sector, but retail sales were up for the third straight month in October. At 1.7 percent, according to the Labor Department, the rise was the highest since March. This of course is in tandem with the fastest rise in prices in 30 years, but it was still good news for most retail entities from the National Retail Federation to Home Depot, which saw a 9.8 percent jump in sales for Q3 and Walmart, which reported a 9.2 percent increase in comparable sales in Q3 2021 versus 8 percent in Q3 2020. The rollercoaster ride continues. Some beneficiaries of stock scarcity are products that may have seemed more niche just a couple of years ago. Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, has sold 10 million Oculus Quest 2 headsets, which is an impressive number for a metaverse communications and gaming console (also known as a VR headset). The news was shared by Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon at the semiconductor company’s...

  During times of low unemployment, it’s more important to reach out to potential employees instead of waiting for them to come to you. Below are eight strategies you can use to help find employees for your small business. Keep in mind that during periods of low unemployment, the candidate you’re considering could be interviewing with several other companies. So if you find someone you like, don’t hesitate to make them an offer. Waiting too long could cause you to lose out to the competition. Sweeten the deal. You could make it easier to find and hire new employees by offering them more than the competition. If you can’t afford to increase pay, consider other ways to make the job more attractive. Employees tend to appreciate other things in addition to money — things like a casual dress code, flexible schedules, employee discounts, fun team-building activities, vacation days, etc Encourage employee referrals. Word of mouth is powerful advertising. Establish a referral program that...

  There has been an increase in online retailing due to the pandemic and, as a result, same-day delivery and BOPIS retail offerings such as curbside and in-store pickups have become the new normal and permanent services for businesses. With the holiday season is fast approaching, companies are preparing for the increase in online retailing by improving their “buy online, pick up in-store” services, also known as BOPIS. Office To make shopping easier and more convenient for its customers, Office Depot has announced the launch of its 20 minute Pickup Promise at all Office Depot and Office Max locations nationwide. This means that the retailer is guaranteeing that any qualifying online orders will be ready for pickup within 20 minutes after a customer orders online. Shoppers can access this service by placing a qualifying order online at officedepot.com or via the Office Depot mobile app and selecting “In-Store or Curbside Pickup” at checkout at least one hour befor...

During an online event yesterday, Microsoft unveiled the latest generation of Surface tablets, laptops, and accessories. The company’s EVP & Chief Product Officer, Panos Panay, introduced eight new devices, all of which will be released in October, and they look promising. The list of Microsoft Surface products that were shown at the event includes the Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse ($24.99), the Surface Laptop Studio ($1,599.99), the Surface Go 3 ($399.99), the Surface Duo 2 ($1,499.99), the Surface Pro 8 ($1,099.99), and the Surface Slim Pen 2 ($129.99). Microsoft also made it a goal to be inclusive with its product design, thanks to a new kit that helps people with disabilities more easily use any of the Surface devices. The Surface Adaptive Kit, which is due out later this year, contains raised stickers, port labels, a lanyard tab, and keycaps to help people with vision impairment distinguish the different keys on their keyboard. Microsoft introduced the second-generation, Andro...

  Nothing is more soothing than natural light. The calming green glow of sunlight as it passes through newly budded leaves on a spring day. The fiery pink, orange, and yellow rays of a fresh sunrise burning their way across the sky are magnificent, yet awe-inspiring. Natural settings such as these provided the inspiration for BioLite’s new AlpenGlow camp lantern series.  “It’s right there in the name: we were inspired by those breathtaking color blends you catch at daybreak or moments like the Northern Lights,” said BioLite CEO Jonathan Cedar via press release, “with our design, users can select colors to match their mood – lighting plays a huge role in creating a sense of space and place and the AlpenGlow will help you feel at home, whether it’s the backyard or the backcountry.” The USB rechargeable AlpenGlow lanterns provide more than seven light modes utilizing ChromaReal LED Technology, which emits broad-spectrum light for daylight-quality illuminatio...

  Unsurprisingly, stay-at-home digital device sales across the world grew in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. The global community as a whole spent more time inside and consistently sought ways to entertain itself from home. The pandemic provided the ideal conditions for a global gaming sales boom , as people sought to disconnect from their immediate reality and socialize with friends online. Data from a study conducted by Growth from Knowledge (GfK) , a market research firm specializing in data collection for the consumer electronics field, shows that the rise in sales of gaming-related hardware consistently outdid the elevated performances of non-gaming hardware across the globe.  GfK’s new in-depth report shows figures from the international gaming industry not including the United States, but it parallels sales trends stateside as well. Both US and global sales of gaming hardware and accessories have grown at exorbitant rates as a result of the pandemic....

  Five years ago, augmented reality (AR) entered the mainstream via phone-based applications. Despite mainstream hits such as Pokemon Go, which was a rudimentary workaround compared to today’s implementations, AR in general struggled with slow adoption and education hurdles. Even as the early hype subsided, retailers looked for practical use cases for AR, realizing that it had the potential to increase sales conversion by enabling consumers to see how a product or experience — furniture, clothing, consumer electronics — would look in the context of a home or other real-world setting. Today, we’re at the beginning of a new golden age of technology. AR, AI, Edge Computing, 5G — it’s all converging. Amid rapid changes, the key to integrating technology into retail in ways that drive sales is to focus on constants. Trends come and go, but the biggest consumer problems remain constant. The AR industry’s value proposition also remains constant: We help people see thi...

  One of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to social media is that, in order to achieve your brand’s full potential, you need to be active everywhere, all the time. As new social media platforms pop up on what feels like a yearly basis, brands are left questioning whether they should create an account to capitalize on new territory. But without taking a hard look at a few key factors, seeking to be omnipresent on social media can actually be one of the biggest recipes for failure. At Social Media Week New York earlier this year, Falcon.io’s senior strategist, Casper Vahlgren, referenced Reebok’s 2012 Facebook strategy as an example of how easily brands can go overboard with the number of accounts they have. Almost a decade ago, the footwear and clothing company had a whopping 616 Facebook pages under its brand name. Not only was this approach putting a strain on the social team in charge of these accounts, but it was also confusing for consumers as well....

  This week, the CE industry mourns the loss of one of our own. Jeff Caton, CEO of High-Tech Networks, passed away unexpectedly at his home in Norris, Tennessee on Saturday, July 31st. Jeff was 62 years of age.    Jeff’s 43 years in the consumer electronics business began when he was 19 with a job at Harvey’s Warehouse in Knoxville, Tennessee. Over the next few decades, Jeff worked his way up to becoming retail store manager before joining Teal Marketing, where he worked in the sales department in a manufacturer’s representative role. Jeff branched out and created his own rep company, Network Sales and Marketing, which eventually merged with High-Tech Network in 2005.  “Jeff will be sorely missed by our team and the AV community in the Southeast,” said Dave Robinette, President of High-Tech Network, in the company’s press release. “His leadership, sense of humor and big personality left a positive impact with everyone who worked with him. Hi...

 Jay Penney has joined  Element Electronics  to spearhead the organization’s new private-label appliance initiative. The lineup available exclusively to members of Nationwide Marketing Group currently includes refrigerators and freezers but is looking to expand to even more categories. “Throughout my career, I have always loved working with independent dealers, helping them win in a very competitive marketplace,” says Penney, senior vice president / general manager of Element Appliances. “In this new role, I get to continue feeding that passion while also introducing consumers to a high-quality line of appliances at a very fair price.” Penney’s 30-year career in the appliance industry began at Sears Amana Refrigeration in the Chicago area where he was an inside sales associate. He later served as manager of buying groups, sales manager and senior account manager for Sears Amana; vice president of sales and marketing, and senior vice president of sales fo...

  SUMMARY   •  Distributors have acted adroitly through the yearlong pandemic, swiftly tailoring programs to get dealers up to speed in digital, and in streamlining their just-in-time delivery processes.   •  An especially challenging issue for dealers early on was securing adequate inventory to meet exceedingly high demand for certain categories such as networking products, replacement appliances and large-screen TVs – but distributor tools that aided dealers in accurate forecasting and product cycle planning proved to be invaluable resources .  • Having successfully adjusted to the “new normal,” distributors say they foresee business eventually settling down in the post-COVID period to a combination hybrid digital and in-person model – and add that they now have the resources in place to manage all aspects of it, moving forward. Dealerscope: What will be the most salient features of your product and program presentations movin...

Around the United States, COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted and the population is getting vaccinated; however, the mental impact of a year spent in a germ-conscious pandemic society remains. Consumers are increasingly conscious of the germs present on the surfaces of the phones, keys, wallets, and other daily accessories and gadgets they carry around all day. Retailers and manufacturers who filled the need for hygiene-conscious products such as UV-C sanitizer devices , smart face masks , and air purifiers during the pandemic are continuing to utilize this increased awareness in the post-pandemic world.    In July, the second-generation Coral UV 2 , an LED UV-C sanitizer and dryer system, will be released for sale directly to consumers. With a sleek stainless steel design, the Coral UV 2 can be placed in any room in the house and eradicates 99.9 percent of bacteria in just 10 minutes. Compared with the original Coral UV sanitizer and dryer that was first ...