ELECTRONICS: TRMARKETPLACE


Electronics should exploit ‘bolt-ons’ and the value proposition, TRMarketplace hears


Shifting consumer habits towards electronics in a pre- and since-Covid landscape crystallised debate in a session at the TRMarketplace digital forum (28 September – 2 October). Luke Barras-Hill provides the highlights from an engaging session.


I


n a session kindly sponsored by Nuwave Channel Partners, attendees heard from Derek Hughes, CEO,


Institute of


International Retail (IIR); Anna Marchesini, Project and Business Development Manager, m1nd-set; and Hoj Parmar, Founder and CEO, Nuwave Channel Partners. According to m1nd-set, pre-


Covid conversion (18%) in duty free electronics fell woefully below the global category average (57%). Shoppers’ top barriers to purchase


included no motivating promotions (40%), higher prices versus the home country (34%) and the absence of attractive products (26%). Impulse purchases (33%) featured


highly, with a significant volume of customers (74%) undecided on which products to purchase. Since-Covid, shoppers have cut expenses and spend less on electronics (65%) and are purchasing more online (60%). “Future electronics shoppers


will cut expenses for some product groups or categories so we need to make sure there is value for money behind the purchase in duty free shops,” said Marchesini. In a discussion that followed,


Parmar observed that Covid-19 has ‘fast tracked’ consumer buying behaviours. Specialist


Nuwave Channel Partners has products on more than 50 airlines worldwide and is looking to move into the airport retail space. Over the past three to four years, the company has witnessed increasing growth in the consumer electronics segment onboard airlines driven by demand for impulse items. “Over the last few months, airlines


have had to take catalogues off due to Covid and moved to apps, which falls in line with the way millennials are viewing content and purchasing, but it may be that there is a sector of


DECEMBER 2020


the passenger demographic that is maybe a little bit alienated by that,” said Parmar. “We’ve got to figure how to engage the other 30-odd percent of the buying public travelling on planes by downloading the apps or browsing the catalogues.”


Boosting the proposition When it comes to products, bundle deals or multi-pack merchandise such as power banks and appliance cables are ways of maximising consumer appeal at a time when margins continue to be squeezed. “The value piece is important; this


travel distributor


idea of 2-for-1 in lower priced items,” explained Hughes. “The average transaction value is high, but how do we engage with the impulse buyer? There should be reminders as 28% of travellers forget to pack (travel essentials). Hughes said there exists an opportunity to provide hygiene products as an added extra to the multipack buy. Meanwhile, Marchesini pointed


to the option of combining grab- and-go electronics items with gift-with-purchase opportunities. There exists a correlation with


fashion, where high ticket main assortment items such as clothes or luggage are flanked by accessories such as hats, scarves, belts and


Electronics Webinar Septemb er 2020


gloves, observed Marchesini. “In both fashion and electronics,


you need the time to try out things and make sure that what you spend was worth it,” she said. According to Parmar, electronics’


typically lower share of overall duty free spending combined with competition for trolley space on airlines presents a challenge. “We find that we have to try to offer


very small items that they [airlines] can load the trolley up with, maybe at a lower price point that complement each other to give a little basket of sales.” «


Sign in to the TRMarketplace platform to watch a full repeat of the electronics category webinar.


“Future electronics shoppers will cut expenses for some product groups or categories so we need to make sure there is value for money behind the purchase in duty free shops.”


Anna Marchesini, Project and Business Development Manager, m1nd-set


TRBUSINESS 33


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