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> Living on the Top Line - The Book > About Us > Blog Archive > The Acendency of Price in Buying
The Acendency of Price in BuyingI saw an article from the NHFA today about information from the government stating that price has jumped to the top spot in consumer buying decisions. Now, once again, a broad general statement about retailing is being used to paint a picture of furniture buyers that forgets the very different nature of this product category. We who work in retail know (or should know) that our products are highly considered purchases - a term I learned 50 years ago in business school.
I have argued for decades that we are involved in highly consultative selling, and those retailers who don't understand this or choose to ignore it suffer from low (20% or lower) close ratios - in general retailing this is called "conversion rate". So what do you think Wal Mart's "conversion rate" is? Like - 99.999%? if Sam Walton thought he'd have only a 20% close rate, there wouldn't be a Wal Mart.
Price may become MORE important to furniture shoppers, but it will not be the most determining factor - ever. If the product isn't right, she ain't buying. She'll just wait - or shop until she finds the right product at the right price. Well, good luck to her and to the people who sell it to her, because a mistake in her room, her home, will ruin that business relationship.
The message is that you cannot be successful on price alone, but neither can you get away with triple markups. You'll need sharply priced goods, and you'll need to be even more consultative around the issues of her room and her home.
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