Influx

Electronics and office retailers, among others, are scrambling to grow and emphasize the parts of their offerings that consumers can’t get from discount giants. Best-Buy and CompUSA are rolling out their on-call tech handyman services in which store/brand representatives actually go to the customer’s homes. Besides the obvious revenue potential of these extensions, sending a representative into the consumer’s home presents a huge opportunity to break through the increasingly homogonous pc/electronics retailer brand landscape and build real human relationships in a way Walmart and Dell just can’t.

It will be interesting to see the extent to which these retailers take advantage of this brand opportunity and implement sophisticated training programs so that these on-call service people really understand and can optimally represent their store brands’ positioning.
article entitled, ‘tech support that comes to you’

In another instance of the same trend, Staples is testing its in-home installation service concept in nine stores around Philadelphia. They are focusing on becoming trusted product advisers in these experimental “combination retail stores/dealerships.”
Article entitled, ‘Staples isn’t staying stationary”

CNN article added 11/23/04