Floor Polish: Merchandising Moves Product

Dan Wettstein, owner of a family-owned independent consumer electronics and appliances store in La Crosse, Wis., has a lot of things he could do with his megastore competitors’ weekly newspaper inserts: fish-wrapping, target practice, puppy training, paper mache.

It’d be perfectly understandable if he wanted to torch those circulars with their baiting “price specials” and “guarantees.” But he’s found a better use: customers entering Wettstein’s newly renovated showroom come face to face with a wall display where every one of those flyers is pinned up in full view.

“If somebody is lower on a certain product, we’ll automatically put a new price-match tag on that item and we’ll keep it up for the duration of that week,” said Wettstein. “We will meet any reasonable request and often go beyond that. Price is important to people right now, and we understand that.”