Taking Retail to The Next Level
CompUSA’s Retail 2.0 strategy grabs some attention.
August 2009 By Jeff O'Heir
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Fiorentino began to formulate Retail 2.0 shortly after Systemax bought CompUSA early last year. As Fiorentino visited the stores, he noticed the nearly 200 screens—TVs, PC monitors, notebooks—in each did little more than play clips of "The Lion King." Many sales people were uninformed about the latest technologies. When they needed product, pricing or inventory information, they had to use a computer at the front of the store.
To improve the experience, Fiorentino connected all of the screens to the Internet for access to product info, promotions, customer reviews, videos and anything else that could inform customers and help close sales. Sales people benefited because they could easily find the answers for almost all customer questions. The stores also have bar-code scanners and configurators to help customers find compatible products, which can lead to more add-on sales.
"We are seeing customers become more loyal to us," Fiorentino said. "Over time, we are seeing our traffic, [conversion rates and sales] increase. We are seeing the result of giving the customer a different experience."
CompUSA still has to overcome several challenges, Baker and others said. Some of those include improving a tarnished brand name and adding more brick-and-mortar experience to a leadership team entrenched in e-commerce. Fiorentino has shown his group is working on those. Meanwhile, the industry is watching and waiting for its next step.
"Too much of the retail experience today is passive. There's no reason why more can't combine the strategies of the Internet with traditional retailing to create a more exciting experience," said the CEA's Gary Shapiro. "When was the last time you heard someone talk about taking brick-and-mortar retailing to the next level. His optimism is refreshing." DS
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