"Basically we get confused a bit about what retail is. It is really just buying things, putting them on a floor and selling them."
Gerry Harvey
Co-founder Harvey Norman, Australian Bulk Goods Retailer
Co-founder Harvey Norman, Australian Bulk Goods Retailer
Harvey Norman is a very large, successful Australian retailer, due in part to the business acumen of it's co-founder Mr. Norman, so who am I to take issue with his view of retail?
Nonetheless I do. In fact I couldn't disagree more and believe this is exactly why much of retail is in the trouble it is, with the public having very low expectations of the help they can expect from retail sales people.
If the company you give your money to doesn't know much about the product they sell and believes all they need do is put it on the floor, what's their value?
Nonetheless I do. In fact I couldn't disagree more and believe this is exactly why much of retail is in the trouble it is, with the public having very low expectations of the help they can expect from retail sales people.
If the company you give your money to doesn't know much about the product they sell and believes all they need do is put it on the floor, what's their value?
There are exceptions however (Nordstroms comes to mind) but not many of them.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind paying more when it is obvious the retailer adds value to what I am buying but most don't, particularly in electronics.
In those cases, the lowest price wins.
It wasn't always this way. Retailers used to see themselves as adding value in the sales process but unrelenting pressure to reduce cost has pushed that idea to the side.
ReplyDeleteI work in consumer electronics and nowhere is that more true than in our business. Ironically too because we sell technology that should be explained and discussed before a decision to buy is made.
But just about everywhere it's "how low a price do you have?"
I agree with you both.
ReplyDeleteNordstroms is an exception to the rule and yes we should be asking for and getting more answers than we do. Case in point: me shopping for a college graduation watch for my son this past weekend.
Whatever I buy it won't be cheap and there are technical questions I could ask regarding the movement, the year designed, etc. But all I said was, "We're in a tough economy and you are going to have to give me a great deal."
It never crossed my mind to ask about the product itself. The sales person, whom I have bought from previously, may have known but I am conditioned to believe she wouldn't and simply went straight to the price.
Very sad for both of us really.
Waugust,
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's sad at all...in the example that you gave (and without knowing what type of watch you were trying to buy), I don't think you were that concerned about asking detailed product questions BECAUSE you were simply looking for a reliable yet cost effective watch for your son. In other words, you weren't looking to purchase a collector's watch costing thousands of dollars where you would have wanted to know much more about the watch.
But even if the latter was true, I'm guessing that you probably would have gone into the store armed with a lot of knowledge gained from your own research into watches. Because honestly, don't we all take what a salesman says with at least a little grain of salt knowing that it's his job to SELL the product.
I think you have to put Harvey Norman's quote into perspective. I thought his "title" (Australian Bulk Goods Retailer") told it all - when you're selling things in bulk, economics play a much more important role in the buying decision than if you were buying a one-off/complex product - think buying bulk items at Costco vs. some specialty food item at a gourmet store.
I think the internet - and the subsequent ubiquity of information that it provides - is largely responsible for making salesmen obsolete. Unless you're just lazy or don't have the time to do research, it's very easy these days to know just as much, if not more about a product than a salesman does.
Read this from yesterday’s Washington Post Technology editorials: The Vanishing Full-Line Electronics Retailer. It’s in response to the demise of Circuit City. Wade through all the comments at the bottom to see what consumers are thinking.
ReplyDeletehttp://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2009/03/the_vanishing_full-line_electr.html?wprss=fasterforward
BTW, I have never had an outstanding shopping experience at any local Nordstrom’s.
Thanks for the link to the Washington Post article Anonymous.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of consistency in those reader comments; selection better on the internet, you can get all the information you need on line and cannot in the stores, better prices on line, retail salespeople try to up-sell rather than help the customer find the best product for them, etc.
I agree with much of this but in fairness, the negatives are not limited to brick and mortar. For example most anyone who has tried to buy a "price seems to good to be true" item on the internet has encountered the up-sell attempt to add on accessories that brings the price as high if not higher than it is at retail. And if you don't buy what they want, all of a sudden the product at the great price becomes "backordered".
Also, while the internet a a good place to search for information I haven't found many internet retailers to be any more knowledgeable than I have brick and mortar store salespeople.
I believe the answer is not in a "them and us" comparison of internet and brick and mortar but rather a new business model that combines the best of both.
Why not a real store with some real products on display but also the ability to show the consumer most anything they might want on line at truly innovative, interactive websites? Kiosks staffed by very knowledgeable attendants who demonstrate their willingness to help the consumer find the best product for them rather than just make a sale.
Devising radical new business models goes way beyond the scope of blog posts such as this but I believe the revolution is coming. Not across the board for all products at the same time but for some and soon just as it did in books and music not too many years ago.