Expertise, Selection, Service Are Still Vital For Independent Retailers

They wanted to know which brands to consider. I went on the chain’s website and, based on their budget, I knew which brand to pick and which brands to avoid. There was a package of four kitchen appliances that fit the bill, but, I played it safe. I contacted Alan Wolf, senior editor of TWICE, who has covered major appliances for years. He confirmed my opinion and found a rebate on the retailer’s site as well. I forwarded the info to our friends’ wife and she went with her daughter to shop at this regional retailer.

After the visit, the results were underwhelming, especially if you were the owner of that independent. First, they only had one kitchen appliance out of the four shown in the package on their website. Even if you don’t know the appliance business you must know that kitchen appliances are now fashion items, especially with kitchens being the gathering place for friends and family. Most consumers want to see, feel and touch the actual products in the store after seeing them online. Not having the appliances on display that were featured on its website was not acceptable. That was strike one.

Then the mother and daughter showed the rebate they had and were told it didn’t apply to the items they wanted but could apply to other brands if they wanted to switch off. It smelled like the old “bait and switch” game to me. And he didn’t budge on price. That was strike two.

At that point the salesperson started to show them other brands, which were either more expensive or on the “brands to avoid” list I gave them. They said no thanks and left the store. What was even more interesting was the observation by our friend is that, “He had no enthusiasm while he was trying to sell us, like he didn’t care.” Strike three, and the local retailer lost the sale.

So the ladies moved on to Best Buy and texted me. I advised them to get brand names and model numbers at each store of products that they liked so they could do their research when they got home. At Best Buy, which did not have the main brand they wanted, an enthusiastic “blue shirt” showed them other good options. He provided a full list of brand names, model numbers and prices for two or three packages and also offered to match the price of any other deal they got from another retailer for the same models.

And, they were actually able to see, feel and touch the major appliances at Best Buy.

To make a long story short, as of this writing it looks like Best Buy will get a sale of as much as $2,000. The regional independent retailer who had the advantage to get this sale blew it by not having the appliance in the store that was on the website, having an unenthusiastic salesperson who seemed to pull the old “bait and switch” routine, and not completely honoring the rebate the customers brought in from its own website. At the very least the salesperson could have gone online to see if another one of the company’s locations had the products on display to save the potential sale.

So, what can independents learn from this experience? Owners and managers of these stores still need to push the fundamentals: sales training; if you have a package and rebate listed on your site, make sure they are available in the store; honor your own rebates; and be price competitive.

Independent retailers are vital to the major appliance and electronics industries by selling products for a good margin. The best independents provide product expertise, installation and service, not to mention teaching their best sales associates how to run a local business.

Let’s hope this story is not typical of this local retailer – or independents in general - because if it is their survival will be in question.

Steve Smith is a contributing editor of i3, was the longtime editor in chief of TWICE and is a member of the CT Hall of Fame.