By Martin Vedris
BRISBANE: With Christmas just 11 days away the selling trends are starting to emerge and WOW Sight & Sound identified the hot selling products this festive season and also explained how the company plans to maximise sales and handle the retail rush.
WOW Sight & Sound director of retail Con Nicolas said if the highest selling products of 2007 were any indication, flat panel televisions, handheld navigation devices and laptops would be the most sought after gifts for Christmas.
“With only a couple of weeks left until Christmas, our superstores have been flooded with requests for the latest in electronics equipment,” Nicolas said.
The market is also flooded with a large range of promotions and cash back offers, prizes and competitions.
“Many of our suppliers are also fuelling demand by offering exclusive gifts to accompany Christmas purchases such as $25 fuel vouchers on selected navigation systems, LCD or surround sound with selected LCD panels and up to $149 cash back on selected laptops and desktops.
“Everything from flat screen televisions to digital cameras will be highly sought after as electronics and entertainment equipment becomes an increasingly affordable Christmas gift option.”
Nicolas narrowed his ‘top seller’ predictions down to six categories:
Flat panel screens:
“Ranging in price from just $299 to $5,999, flat panel televisions will boost Christmas sales figures significantly. Some of the most popular brands include LG, Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Sharp, Acer and Vue.”
Handheld navigation devices:
“With the price of handheld navigation devices continuing to fall they are fast becoming one of the most popular electronics gifts available. Ranging in price from $196 to $799, Garmin, Navman, TomTom and Navtrack handheld navigation devices will be sales winners this Christmas.”
Games consoles:
“Sony PS3, Nintendo Wii and Xbox game consoles are toys suitable for all ages and, therefore, a guaranteed top seller this Christmas. Starting from just $348, game consoles are an affordable gift option for the kids, both big and small.”
Digital cameras:
“Both hard drive camcorders and digital still cameras are always a popular choice at Christmas. With WOW’s digital cameras ranging in price from $98 to $1499, there is a product to suit every application and budget.
Mp3 players, iPods and iPod docking stations:
“It’s no surprise mp3 players and iPods top the most popular Christmas gift list but a new addition to the category is the iPod docking stations. Starting from just $95, these products are available from iPod, Samsung, iRiver and Nashi.”
Laptops:
“While personal computers are a necessity in today’s internet age, many consumers are opting for the flexibility and affordability that comes with laptops which start from as little as $595. Toshiba, HP, Asus, Acer and Compaq are among the more popular brands sold at WOW Sight & Sound.”
Nicholas said he expected WOW Sight & Sound to have a very successful Christmas season and provided some suggestions retailers can use to meet the demands of Christmas shoppers.
“We have a proven system in place for handling the Christmas rush,” Nicholas said.
“The first step is to plan ahead; use proper planning techniques like sell through data and forecasting to predict the top selling products for the season, get your orders in early and maintain a good relationship with your suppliers so you will get your fair share of stock before it sells out.
“At store level, make sure your merchandising reflects your marketing. If you advertise a particular product at a special rate, make sure there is plenty of stock on the shelf or you’ll lose valuable sales time and time again.
“And finally, with so many customers in store you’ll need more staff to cater for the additional trade. Employ extra staff early and extend your trading hours to make for a smooth and successful Christmas retailing season.”
WOW Sight & Sound currently has 12 stores throughout Australia, with a number of other superstores either under construction, or in the planning phase in locations outside of its traditional Queensland trading base.