CompUSA Pioneers Next Generation of Retail
December 09 2008 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Internet and Traditional Retail United to Change Electronics
Shopping MIAMI, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- CompUSA has launched Retail
2.0 at their Dadeland Miami concept store, infusing traditional
retail with the Internet to revolutionize the way people shop.
Retail 2.0 gives customers access to online information to research
products: owner's manuals, reviews, product tutorials, pictures,
installation details -- whatever they need to make purchasing
decisions -- literally right at their fingertips. Technology
consumers spend hours shopping different stores and online
retailers as well as researching online product reviews. Retail 2.0
lets them do it from the CompUSA store as if they were home and
eliminates guesswork. Bringing Internet capabilities to in-store
customers is the start of a megatrend. "No one has done this yet,"
said Gilbert Fiorentino, Chief Executive of Systemax Inc.'s
Technology Products business, which includes CompUSA. "We want to
be the most progressive and forward-thinking retailer in the
world." CompUSA took the model of its web site -- one of the best
for providing information, pictures and how-to videos, among other
things -- and brought it into the retail stores, said Fiorentino.
"Shoppers will get the online experience inside the store. They
will know everything about the product before getting it home and
unpackaged." Among the highlights of Retail 2.0 at the Dadeland
store, and planned for other stores in the future: -- All desktops,
laptops, monitors and televisions -- more than 170 total screens --
are connected to dedicated computers, providing direct, single key
access to all production information on the item from the Internet
and allowing further discovery -- even outside of the CompUSA
website. -- In every aisle, additional stations are available so
customers can obtain buying advice, type in a printer name to find
out what ink they need or their computer model to determine what
RAM to add for the capabilities they want. -- CompUSA will offer
workshops every weekend that will be podcast on its web site as
well. Look for sessions such as 'How to build a PC at home,' or
'How to design a Facebook page.' Even though customers don't need
an employee's assistance to use in-store Internet, Retail 2.0
raises the bar on customer service for traditional retail.
"Everything has changed in technology. Nothing has changed in
retail, where the same old stores have employees who aren't
educated about the products they're selling," Fiorentino said.
CompUSA's concept boosts employees' expertise by giving them access
to all product information they may need to help customers.
Technology giant Microsoft Corp. applauded CompUSA's innovation.
"Consumers want the same sophisticated product, brand and
comparison information at retail store locations as they get on the
web, and successful retailers will integrate these channels in a
seamless and compelling way," said David Gruehn, Microsoft's U.S.
retail industry solutions director. "The All-New CompUSA's Retail
2.0 initiative shows how technologies like the Microsoft .NET
Framework and Windows Vista are enabling retailers to launch a new
wave of innovation in multi-channel retailing and at a time when
they must increasingly compete for loyalty and wallet share,"
Gruehn said. "Ultimately, The All-New CompUSA has put the consumer
at the center of retail experience and is empowering them with the
information they need to make more informed buying decisions."
Seventy-seven percent of consumer purchases were influenced by
Internet research, according to a 2006 study by the Consumer
Electronics Association and Yahoo! While most consumer electronics
purchases were made at retail stores, the study cited reasons
shoppers researched online first, including 73 percent who said
because it's easy to compare prices of the same product at
different stores. Consumers who finally bought spent an average 12
hours researching online before they purchased, the study said. The
complexity of electronics causes consumers to delay purchases,
according to a 2003 study by Metafacts Inc. for Advanced Micro
Devices. Forty- eight percent of respondents in that survey, for
instance, delayed buying digital cameras because they were too
complicated and 44 percent delayed buying a personal computer.
About CompUSA The CompUSA companies (http://www.compusa.com/) serve
the needs of both personal and business computer users, selling
consumer electronics, computers, digital media technology and
peripherals via retail stores, catalogs and Internet channels. The
CompUSA companies are subsidiaries of Systemax Inc. (NYSE:SYX).
About Systemax Inc. Systemax Inc. (http://www.systemax.com/), a
Fortune 1000 company, sells personal computers, computer supplies,
consumer electronics and industrial products through a system of
branded ecommerce web sites, direct mail catalogs, relationship
marketers and retail stores in North America and Europe. It also
manufacturers and sells personal computers under the Systemax and
Ultra brands and develops and markets ProfitCenter Software, a
web-based, on-demand application for multi-channel direct marketing
companies. DATASOURCE: CompUSA CONTACT: Britt Monroe, , or Toby
Srebnik, , both of Tilson Communications, +1-561-998-1995, for
CompUSA Web site: http://www.compusa.com/ http://www.systemax.com/
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