By Claire Reilly
With the rise of the steam system category, retailers have been given a great opportunity to up-sell consumers from a humble iron to a better-featured and higher-priced product, helping to build a stronger bottom line in the small appliances section of the store.
But as with any new technology, the benefits of a steam system need to be conveyed to consumers in order to justify the price premium. And as with many other products on the retail floor, not all steam systems are built the same.
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According to Sunbeam’s product marketing manager for garment care, Sarah Francis, these subtle differences often result in different selling prices and different results for consumers when they take the product home. As such, qualifying the customer on the differences between products is vital.
“Firstly it’s important to recognise the difference between a steam station and a steam generator,” said Francis. “A steam generator has a separate water tank (up to 3 times larger than a traditional iron) and a boiler unit that generates pressurised steam and pumps it through the iron onto the heated soleplate. This means the steam is much more powerful and penetrates garments much easier reducing your ironing time by half.
“A steam station also has a large and separate water tank but it operates the same way as a traditional iron — it uses the soleplate to turn the water into steam — therefore it can generate more steam from the larger water tank but the steam is not pressurised so it is not as powerful or effective as a steam generator.
“The key to trading customers up from traditional irons or steam stations to steam generators is educating them about the benefits of a steam generator. Knowledge really is key to selling these products.”
With a higher average selling price (ASP), steam systems — the general name used to refer to both the higher-featured steam generators and the more entry-level steam stations — offer a real opportunity for retailers. But Francis warned that more needed to be done to maintain ASPs.
“In order to drive volume in this category retailers and manufacturers are being very aggressive with their pricing – consumers now expect discounts and only buy at this time,” she said. “This is eroding the ASP of the market.
“The industry should have spent time educating consumers about the benefits of steam generators rather than opting for the easy price route as this has significantly reduced the value of the segment.”
To learn more about the big trends and issues affecting the garment care category as well as the newest products available, turn to the April issue of Appliance Retailer magazine.