Accessories Lead the Sale

There was a time when accessories were a category unto themselves. There were neatly displayed areas solely devoted to them. After selecting their audio gear, customers would follow their sales associate to the accessory wall and receive the appropriate length of speaker wire and a couple of RCA plugs. Those buying large TVs might be sold cables to connect those sets to their audio systems. In the early days of video, some sales teams would remember to hand their prospects some blank tape, but, more frequently, those customers made their tape purchases at box stores or Radio Shack on their way home.

Those days are long gone. Today, savvy retailers have learned to merchandise their products around the accessories.

When you go into a restaurant like Ruth’s Chris or Morton’s, it’s a given that you’re going to order a steak. You can expect just that, a steak on a plate. But with their eight varieties of steaks, Morton’s offers 10 different appetizers, six salads, 14 side dishes and a half dozen desserts. Now that’s what I call the sizzle. Morton’s merchandises its basic product—steaks—around the trimmings.