Jabra EarSet Sounds Call For Safety, Comfort, Convenience

Dollar sales at retail, June 2002-June 2003

1. AT&T 1718
2. GE 27931
3. Jabra EarSet
4. Jabra EarWrap
5. Jabra EarBud
6. Belkin F8V920
7. Plantronics M110
8. Jabra EarBoom
9. Plantronics CT10
10. Plantronics MX100

Source: The NPD Group ©TWICE 2003

By Jeff Malester

New York — Highly objective, compared with manufacturers, in their assessment of product movement, retailers tend to more directly feel the beat of the sales pulse — including reasons why they have had selling success with such CE accessories as cellular headsets.

For example, the 15 mobile headset SKUs sold by Sprint retail stores — as a category — have been "consistent in sales during the past year or so, namely product above $20 retail," said Dave Shields, senior manager of accessories for the Overland Park, Kan.-based wireless carrier.

Sprint sells a variety of headsets — including in-the-ear, over-the-ear, on-the-ear, over-the-head — in its 500 retail locations around the United States. The company sells about 1,000 headsets a month, in all categories.

"The customers who buy headsets [such as the Jabra EarSet] already have owned a head set, usually a more basic type, such as the ear bud," said Shields. "They're used to it, looking for something different. They want a nicer piece, something higher, a step-up model.

"With their signature EarGel, they offer [the perception of] comfort," said Shields about Jabra. "This is how [product like the Jabra EarSet] has carved a niche. Also, it [the EarSet] offers added performance — an ear seal, the audio tunnel directly into the ear," said Shields.

CompUSA buyer for wireless communications and networking Douglas Lane finds that "all the Jabra products do well" for the 230-unit Dallas-based chain of PC and related products stores. "This is due to a multiple of reasons," Lane said.

"For one, Jabra packaging pops; it's bright and colorful. They get across the message of what the [EarSet] is.

"Sound quality is another. Quality for the EarSet is excellent.

"And EarGel, their product for holding the headset, is unique. It helps the headset stay on and is very comfortable for people that like it. EarGel comes in small, medium and large and fits the shape and size of the user's ear."

Brick-and-mortar and online retailer Buy Anything Wireless, which prides itself on "quick, simple, affordable and quality" sales of wireless and cellular accessories, finds that hands-free headsets, such as the Jabra EarSet, offer "convenience and safety. These allow [users] to plug an ear piece and microphone into a cellular phone and use it on the go," said the retailer.

The Jabra EarSet, which Akron, Ohio-based Buy Anything Wireless retails as an online special for $17.99, down from its regular $39.99 retail, is a sales success because it's a "good product that fits with [our] phones," said a spokesman for the retailer. The EarSet's universal fits all phones except the Nokia, which takes a special adapter, said the spokesman.