The merchandisers were developed by Systemax for AMD and Western Digital (WD). The AMD unit provides an interactive PC configurator that makes component recommendations based on in-store availability, while the WD unit features a touchscreen display and offers educational product videos.

Like previous interactive systems deployed within Systemax’s CompUSA and TigerDirect stores, the new merchandisers provide the company with customer data based on shoppers’ interaction with the units.

Marketing and strategic initiatives VP Lonny Paul said the displays are more productive than traditional end caps, which do little more than hold inventory.

The displays were rolled out to 25 percent of Systemax’s 46 U.S. and Canadian retail stores in December, and should be installed system-wide within the next two months.

Elsewhere, the company opened its first TigerConnect in-store mobile shop at its flagship Miami location, and has four more on the way, and will open its second Chicago-area TigerDirect.com store and call center later this quarter in Vernon Hills, Ill.

Source: TWICE

That firm – Systemax – is out to prove wrong all of the people who said that retail tech stores were dinosaurs, soon to be replaced by the growing consumer preference for buying online. So far, Systemax is getting the last laugh.

In their last quarterly report, Systemax reported 14% growth in total sales on a record $862 million in U.S. dollars. Make no mistake about it: both CompUSA and Circuit City would have been breaking out the caviar and champagne if they had seen quarterly growth rates anything close to that when they finally went under.

Asked by this columnist whether “brick and mortar” electronics retailing is headed for the graveyard, a company representative stares at his questioner for a moment then actually growls. “There will always be a place for retail stores,” he says with a certainty that leaves no room for doubt.

If you go to a CompUSA store today, the experience is now different. In front of each TV on sale is a keyboard that allows a shopper to check for product reviews, get information from the TV’s user manual, and even check competing prices via the Web. And the benefits work both ways. Not only does the shopper get information about what they are interested in buying, Systemax can also track which products are getting the most attention too. That’s valuable knowledge in the competitive and fast moving world of consumer electronics.

The store’s floor staff are fully commissioned, another interesting difference from some of their larger competitors. “We want our sales associates motivated to be out on the floor meeting customers, not sitting in the store break room yacking about last weekend’s ballgame,” says one company official.

Amid signs that Wall Street is starting to take more of an interest in what Systemax is doing, the company has been moving cautiously. They tested their Retail 2.0 marketing concepts in Florida, and have been slowly reopening CompUSA stores in large cities like Houston and Chicago. If you want to see a Systemax-branded store in action in the Bay Area, forget it. There aren’t any yet in California, and company officials flatly refuse to comment on any expansion plans for the largest state.

Their caution is probably with good reason. Despite Systemax’s recent success in acquiring two failed chains and generating respectable sales, they know they are up against the biggest of the “big box” retailers in WalMart and Best Buy, plus the ever-present attraction of online shopping. Whether you shop with your fingers or your feet, it remains to be seen if Systemax’s efforts to combine both will keep you coming back for more.

Source: Examiner.com

The Retail 2.0 concept rolled out two years ago at CES and has since been deploying elements of it throughout all CompUSA and TigerDirect stores. Retail 2.0 is a sales and marketing strategy that marries online technology and tools to in-store merchandising displays. The displays are designed to give consumers the rich-media information they need to choose the right products and to deliver stocking, supply-chain, sell-through and analytical information to the retailer’s sales floor and corporate offices.

The new kiosks build upon those capabilities by offering richer information and tools to the consumer, retailer and manufactures. While the two kiosks have a different look, they accomplish similar tasks.

AMD, for example, approached Systemax to create a kiosk that would help the processor maker increase its sales into the PC system builder market. By clicking different sections of the kiosk’s touch screen, shoppers can receive recommendations as to which processors, components and accessories are most compatible with the system they are trying to build or upgrade. The kiosk is designed to help shoppers of all tech levels, from novice to expert.

At the end of the session, the kiosk can print out a list of suggested components and prices, which the consumer pass along to a sales person for help. (CompUSA and TigerDirect will also add the components to the system for free.) Since the kiosk is tied into the store’s main system, it can immediately tell the associate what components are in stock or the closest store that has them.

“All the information is localized so we can leverage it all in real time,” said Lonny Paul, vice president of marketing and strategic initiatives at Systemax, at 2011 CES. Those improvements to Retail 2.0 have helped increase the “buy up” of AMD processors and related components because consumers can readily see the additional benefits and features of the more expensive products, Paul said.

The Retail 2.0 back-end system has also been enhanced to improve merchandising and sales’ analytics. Store managers, for example, can tell how many times a product has been lifted from a display, which helps retailers and manufacturers optimize product positioning and forecasting.

“Retail 2.0 provides all the benefits technology to the consumer, while we get the benefit of becoming much better marketers,” Paul said.

Manufacturers and vendors can also manage their own information on the kiosk screens, pushing out new or updated information without having to go through the retailer. That constant flow of updated information straight to the kiosks also helps sales associates self-educate themselves on the latest products and technologies when customer traffic is light.

Sytemax will also implement its latest Retail 2.0 solutions in the new TigerConnect mobile divisions, beginning this quarter within its TigerDirect flagship store in Miami. The kiosks will help consumers find the right device, carrier and accessories to fit their lifestyle and budget, Paul said.

Systemax will continue rolling out more Retail 2.0 innovations within CompUSA and TigerDirect stores throughout the year, he said.

“You have to drive by each of our competitors to get to us. So we have to give consumers a reason to shop with us. It’s all about differentiating,” he said, adding that the strategy is working. “Our same-store comps are up, while everyone else’s is down. There has to be a reason for that.”

Source: Dealerscope

The chain opened a new store in Euless in February and plans another in about a month in Arlington near Interstate 20 and Cooper Street.

It’s been a choppy ride for the 26-year-old consumer electronics retailer. Once known as Software Warehouse, it went public in 1991, acquired Tandy Corp.’s Computer City chain 12 years ago and then took over California-based The Good Guys chain in 2003.

But it struggled to make profits as fierce competition ate into margins. Not even Mexico’s renowned investor Carlos Slim — Forbes magazine’s richest man in the world — could salvage the ailing chain after investing over $3 billion.

Systemax, a publicly traded Long Island-based company that owns TigerDirect.com, an online electronics retailer, bought the CompUSA brand and 16 stores, including ones in Plano and El Paso, in early 2008 from a liquidator. Just the year before, CompUSA had operated 229 outlets nationally and employed 1,500 in North Texas alone.

By contrast, Systemax seems on a roll.

Unconventional history

Systemax was launched by two brothers in 1949 as a seller of hand trucks and carts. The three sons of one of the founders expanded what had become a catalog business, Global DirectMail, in 1986 by acquiring a firm that sold computers and computer supplies. It bought TigerDirect in 1995 months after going public, according to a company profile by business information provider Hoover’s Inc.

Despite “the worst recession of our generation,” Systemax sales grew 4 percent to $3.2 billion in its 2009 financial year, a record for the company, Chief Executive Richard Leeds told analysts last month. Same-store sales for the fourth quarter grew 12 percent while sales by its business-to-business units rose 11 percent.

At an auction last year, Systemax snapped up the brand and Internet domain names for another collapsed chain, Circuit City, for an undisclosed price. As a result, it sells computers, TVs and other goods on a number of Web sites.

Unlike Best Buy and other rivals, CompUSA does not sell appliances and offers only a few DVDs as “spontaneous buys.” It does sell video game equipment and has a very large selection of electronic accessories topped only by Fry’s, said Steve Baker, a frequent shopper at the Euless store since it opened.

“I’ll probably be here once a week, seeing what’s new,” Baker said.

In June 2008, he was helping a customer buy a laptop in a Miami store and suggested they check out the item online. “And that was the ‘Aha’ moment,” he said in a telephone interview. He recalled asking himself, “Why isn’t the laptop itself connected? We have this best-of-breed content on our Internet site. Why can’t our customers take advantage of it?”

The result is what CompUSA calls Retail 2.0.

For example, each widescreen TV on display becomes a computer monitor with its own keyboard for easy surfing. So does each display PC and laptop. Touch the keyboard and an Internet page on the item appears on the screen. Tiered displays with cameras and GPS devices share a common computer. Pick up an item, and its Internet page appears.

From that page, a shopper can navigate to any Web site to compare prices or check reviews. If a local Best Buy store offers a large-screen TV for $50 less, CompUSA will match it, said Euless store manager Chris Mora. “But 98 percent of the time, we’re going to be cheaper,” he said. There’s also a 30-day price guarantee.

Should a customer find a cheaper price from a rival Internet retailer or a wholesale club like Costco or Sam’s, matching the price is left to the store manager’s discretion.

More than a price check

“Retail 2.0 is not just a price check.” said Lonny Paul, 43, CompUSA’s director of interactive media. “The average customer can come and get as much depth [of information] as he wants.”

Paul quoted a survey that found that 72 percent of would-be buyers of electronic goods leave without making a purchase so they can go home and research the product and prices online.

All of the interactivity was lost this week on Julia Hoskins and Ivy Ashby, who were shopping the Euless store for a new PC for their company, a geophysical consulting firm. A sales clerk answered all their questions. They were going to go back to their office to price-check when a reporter alerted them to the store’s online capabilities. Unfortunately, they had narrowed their choice down to an Acer computer that was exclusive to CompUSA and could not be easily compared.

Al Meyers, a Dallas-based consultant with Retail Forward, said CompUSA has stolen a march on competitors, but wondered what “pop” in sales the technology has given the chain and whether it justified the cost.

Rival chains have tried other approaches. At the Canadian unit of Staples, known as Staples Business Depot, customers can consult “live video experts,” Meyers said. Best Buy has the Twelp Force — contact with more than 500 employees through Twitter — and its in-store Geek Squad.

CompUSA likewise has in-store consultants, which it calls TechSperts.

“It seems like a high-cost operation,” Vic Gallese, an independent retail consultant in Fort Worth, said of Retail 2.0. With deep discounting, “I don’t know how they can make any margin.”

CompUSA said the real cost of Retail 2.0 was in the software development, and there is “not a lot of money in hardware, frankly.

“There is an increase in the close rate [actual transactions], customer satisfaction, customer engagement, all those things,” he said. He wouldn’t say how much it has boosted sales, only that “the amount of money is not as important as the best customer experience.”

Source: Dallas Star Telegram

“CompUSA is thrilled to be opening new stores in these markets. We look forward to providing shoppers not only with great deals on computers, HDTVs, components, and other consumer electronics, but offering them the chance to experience a completely new approach to retail shopping with Retail 2.0,” according to a company representative

All three stores are fully integrated with Retail 2.0, CompUSA’s pioneering concept which empowers shoppers by placing the internet at arms’ reach on nearly 300 screens throughout the store, from laptops to desktops to HDTVs. With a single touch, consumers can access full product information including image galleries, product manuals, customer reviews, price comparisons, compatible products available in-store, and even video demonstrations. Customers are also free to browse competitor sites and comparison shop as if they were in the comfort of their own home or office.

The Houston, TX CompUSA is open for business at 9714 Katy Freeway, Bunker Hill, TX 77055.

The Newark, DE is located at 106 Geoffery Drive, Newark, Delaware 19713 and will be opening in mid February.

The store in Euless, TX is at the Shops at Vineyard Village at State Highway 121 North, Euless, TX 76039 and will also open in the next few weeks.

Visit http://www.CompUSA.com for more information.

Source: Company Press release

CompUSA … is rebooting the stores through an interactive shopping concept called Retail 2.0 and will be opening its biggest location in the country in Chicago next month.

At the new stores, in-aisle displays come with scanners, monitors and keyboards. When a shopper scans a product, a Web page appears with detailed product information and recommendations based on local inventory and what’s physically available at that store. The terminals also are open to the full Web, allowing shoppers to check their e-mail, update their Facebook account and check competitors’ sites for better deals. The retailer is ready to take that risk.

The retailer set up a mock store at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel for the Consumer Electronics Show, with TVs displaying information specific to their manufacturers and models, rather than showing the same content on every set. A custom-designed tiered display of hand-held gadgets comes with a monitor that displays product information when a device is lifted up. And another display for software has a touch-screen interface that guides shoppers through the process of selecting a product.

CompUSA has three Chicago-area locations with Retail 2.0: Naperville, Hoffman Estates and Orland Park. The new Chicago store will be on Elston Avenue in a former Circuit City location that has been gutted and redone.

For the Full Article, Visit the Source: Chicago Tribune

MIAMI, Fla. (November 24, 2009) – CompUSA® today announced the opening of its newest store in Aventura, Florida. This is CompUSA’s fifth store in greater Miami, 18th in Florida, with approximately 40 staff members, and is fully integrated with “Retail 2.0®,” CompUSA’s powerful new shopping method.

“CompUSA has tremendous momentum in Miami. Two store openings in the area in less than two months reflect the fact that local residents just can’t seem to get enough of our great deals on computers, HDTVs, components, and other consumer electronics.”

The Aventura store is fully integrated with Retail 2.0, CompUSA’s pioneering concept which empowers shoppers by placing the internet at arms’ reach on nearly 300 screens throughout the store, from laptops to desktops to HDTVs. With a single touch, consumers can access full product information including image galleries, product manuals, customer reviews, price comparisons, compatible products available in-store, and even video demonstrations.

“We are pleased to have this location Retail 2.0-enabled from the very beginning, and we anticipate that our Aventura customers will find this new shopping experience to be both empowering and fun,” he added.

The new CompUSA store is now open for business at 17641 Biscayne Boulevard, Aventura, Florida 33160. The Aventura store will be open extended hours on Friday, November 27, from 5am – 10pm as part of the “Pink Friday®” day-after-Thanksgiving sale. The other 26 CompUSA locations will be open extended hours for the event, as well.

The latest addition, located here near Fort Lauderdale, is the first CompUSA store to be built to the company’s new Retail 2.0 spec. The interactive platform links product displays to dedicated Web pages, allowing shoppers to glean detailed product information from dedicated computer terminals. Three other Florida stores, in Miami-Dadeland, Plantation and North Lake, were previously converted to Retail 2.0, and Systemax plans to retrofit the remaining 12 Florida locations by years’ end.

“Our opening of the new Pembroke Pines location is a reflection of overwhelming demand from our Floridian customers. The Pembroke Pines outlet is the first CompUSA store to be Retail 2.0-enabled from day one, in the spirit of providing more South Florida computer and electronics shoppers with an in-store experience not available anywhere else, with unbeatable prices to boot.”

The new Pembroke Pines CompUSA is located at 10121 Pines Boulevard, Pembroke Pines, FL 33026
Hours of operation are Monday – Friday 10AM – 9PM; Saturday 9AM – 9PM; Sunday 10AM – 6PM

Source: Twice

CompUSA announced the opening of its newest retail location in the greater Miami area, bringing its total number of Florida locations to 16. From day one the store is fully wired for Retail 2.0, bringing shoppers the best of bricks and mortar and online shopping.

“Our opening of the new Pembroke Pines location is a reflection of overwhelming demand from our Floridian customers. The Pembroke Pines outlet is the first CompUSA store to be Retail 2.0-enabled from day one, in the spirit of providing more South Florida computer and electronics shoppers with an in-store experience not available anywhere else, with unbeatable prices to boot.”

This opening follows CompUSA’s conversion of other CompUSA stores to Retail 2.0: the Miami-Dadeland flagship super-store, as well as stores in Plantation and North Lake, with plans to convert the remaining 12 Florida stores by years’ end.

The new CompUSA store is located at 10121 Pines Blvd., at S. Palm Ave, in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
Tel: (954) 266-3800.

In a nutshell, the Retail 2.0 concept is about bringing the e-commerce tools and innovations implemented while heading up TigerDirect.com to CompUSA’s brick-and-mortar stores.

As part of the presentation, he CompUSA’s first Retail 2.0 store saw a 20-percent improvement in its conversion rate. It’s still too early to say how successful Retail 2.0 will be in increasing CompUSA’s sales and profits, but Aneesh Chopra, the country’s CTO and director for technology for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and others liked what they heard.

For the full story visit the source: Dealerscope