Competing Against Carrier, Online Stores

By Joseph Palenchar On May 2 2011 - 4:01am

NEW YORK — Many brick-and-mortar retailers might not have the visibility of carrier-owned stores, and they might not be able to match the price of some online retailers, but they can compete, retailers and marketers told TWICE.

Carriers “need to keep the [indirect] channel competitive,” said Alex Paskoff, Brightpoint’s EVP of sales and marketing. “Third-party retailers are important to the mobile operators.” For that reason, he said, carriers’ free-upgrade programs and other promotions are available through indirect retailers, including small retailers. “It is a level playing field,” he said.

In one respect, however, some indirect retailers have an advantage over carriers whose advertised prices often include mail-in rebates. Retailers such as Best Buy, RadioShack, Walmart, and some authorized agents sell the same phone at the carrier-advertised price but without a rebate, reducing customers’ out-of-pocket expense.

Compared to on-line retailers, brickand- mortar retailers enjoy multiple advantages, some industry veterans say.

Said Kevin Elder, president/CEO of the 300-store Verizon-exclusive Go Wireless chain, “On a PC, it’s hard to see the difference in the brightness of a phone screen or feel the difference in weight.” Few online retailers are also doing a great job of attaching accessories to a handset sale, he also said at a semi- Competing Against Carrier, Online Stores nar during the recent CTIA convention.

For her part, Heather Anderson, marketing VP at The Retail Outsource, said a lot of consumers shop online and exit before purchasing to hold the phone in their hands in a store. “Brick and mortar has been thriving,” she said at the same seminar.

Miami-based The Retail Outsource is an outsource agency specializing in retail consultation and turnkey opening, management, and staffing for such clients as Fortune 500 and small independent retailers.

“The more complex the product, the more likely that consumers will want handholding,” added Dave Stritzinger, CEO of phone-recycling company Flip Swap.