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With more and more young people going to university, Back to School is becoming increasingly more important alongside Black Friday and the Christmas Peak trading period, with tens of thousands of prospective students looking to upgrade their laptop before beginning their studies in September.

No longer is going to college or university with a laptop a luxury, it’s a necessity with many establishments advising on spec and recommended models that will meet the needs of students whilst in academia. Many students will naturally be looking to the bank of Mum and Dad to fund this investment.

Therefore, your ranging needs to appeal not only to the user, but also their parents, which in some instances means you need to work harder to reassure them that they’re purchasing the right product.

The key to success is ranging a variety of price points, sizes and performance specs, appealing to families of all budgets. Focus your ranging on what consumer are looking to buy – for example ultra-slim convertibles and 2-in-1’s accounted for 21.9% of consumer device sales in Q1 2016, up 16.3% from Q1 2015.

With tablet sales in the UK falling by 8% to 1.8 million units in Q1 2016, convertible and 2-in-1 laptops are the budget friendly alternative to purchasing two different devices. Make this flexibility a key selling point for shoppers looking for the complete solution in one device.

As well as the specs of the laptop, it’s also about the package on offer. It’s not just about the device: it’s about the ability to print, within a budget, and the accessories such as cases, cables and bags that all students will need.

Many shoppers will not realise they’ll need to purchase extra accessories, so use this as an opportunity to increase your average basket value by attaching sales. Printers are an especially important peripheral, which all students will need to use frequently. However, printer sales in the Back to School period in 2015 fell 4%. Perhaps to avoid the same issue this year, and increase your print and peripheral sales, bundle them in with laptops and other accessories.

When attaching a printer to a laptop, speak to the customer about how much they expect to use the product. If they’re worried about ink costs, but are prepared to pay more up front, perhaps suggest a low-running cost printer such as the Epson EcoTank.

What’s important is understanding the needs of each individual customer, and making a suggestion suited to them.

Ensure that your staff in the coming months can speak confidently to customer about your products and can advise on the best options for them. Offering this complete solution, which meets the customer’s needs and at a budget that suits all, will help to increase sales during the Back to School period.

Read more at: http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/how-to-make-the-most-of-the-back-to-school-period/038378

Tech brands are by definition considered purchases. We consider innovation, functionality, compatibility, design, budget, and brand in equal proportion to reach an informed decision. Marketers are now very adept at targeting tech through branding and marketing in the same manner FMCG brands have done over the decades.

Our emotional attachment towards brands hasn’t changed, but what has are our perceived needs and desires, in which marketers have done an exceptional job in connecting consumers. This is seamlessly accomplished through ATL and into the customer journey from the point of purchase, whether it be an online, traditional retail, or omnichannel approach.

With luxury brands, keeping consumers engaged and invested throughout the customer experience will never change. Technology is just beginning to utilise this, but is in danger of relying too much on it as tech becomes commoditised — something that, by definition, should not happen with luxury brands. Take Burberry as a prime example who salvaged its brand from the brink of commodity, and is changing the fashion industry through innovative technology to appeal to today’s broader audience.

In recent months, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have begun to change the world of technology once again, introducing a new concept to a global audience. Marketers need to again find a way to excite consumers, much like technology marketers have done in the past. As a new category, largely alien to those outside the world of gaming, consumers need to see for themselves how engaging these new experiences and innovations are.

There are, however, worries that VR will draw people too far into the virtual world, much like social media has created FOMO or “fear of missing out.” Marketers need to supplement this excitement by fighting against a stigma that considers tech “unsociable.”

The reality is that, irrespective of budget, a younger audience’s interest in luxury brands is insignificant when searching for the latest technology from VR to AR (as introduced by Mark Zuckerberg) to gaming or social media. It’s about the experiences that these innovations offer to audiences, allowing tech to be adapted into the mainstream as we become hooked on running our energy, education, social life, and even the fridge and heating from one device. The brand that provides that device, irrespective of how, remains important to today’s consumer.

VR and AR brands know that to become mainstream, as PlayStation is cleverly attempting to do, they must lend their use to advertising and marketing. The challenge is immersing the consumer effectively into the VR and AR world, removing itself from any social or health concerns, by creating experiences that are controlled and appeal to a wide demographic. It’s a marketer’s challenge to realise how they can accomplish this. Of all the brands within the VR and AR category, Sony, Microsoft, HTC, and Oculus will come to market as true consumer propositions we can all purchase, but only a few will survive. The victors will pave the way through avoiding the marketing mistakes of others, establishing VR and AR as mainstream consumer categories that will perhaps shape how we interact and enjoy media in the future.

Read more at: http://www.brandingmagazine.com/2016/04/18/new-reality-technology-brands/

With both virtual reality and augmented reality being the headline grabbing attraction at MWC16, its appeal as a marketing tool to drive desire and innovation with any brand is potentially its immediate use, rather than the product itself.

With the exception of the brands who manufacture the products themselves, none use the technology for marketing purposes. Travel, hotel, and adventure clothing companies however are embracing it and seeing positive returns in some cases.

There are of course the odd examples, like Samsung rolling out Zuckerberg for the S7 launch and providing Gear VRs for all the delegates to use which created a media frenzy and a reaction to a photo which will be cemented in history for many years that provoked an odd sense of alarm. However I suspect Mr Zuckerberg was just enjoying the moment seeing several hundred unsuspecting journalists wearing his product, and relishing its third party marketing potential to bolster Facebook’s modest profits.

The clever driver here seems to be how all AR & VR brands have taken the opportunity to raise the profile of their products for their own gain, creating marketing opportunities through brand association, including more recently Coca Cola with Google cardboard and many others as they seek the next cool marketing tool.

Thomas Cook installed Samsung Gear VR headsets in 10 UK stores to let potential holiday makers see 360 degree views of sites in New York, Singapore, Egypt, Cyprus and Greece. Bookings of New York excursions increased by 190% as a result.

Marriott have used VR in a few ways, a 4D “teleporter” experience where users wore a VR headset whilst standing in a pod that would blow wind or splash water on them while they saw views of beaches etc. They have also offered Vroom Service, where guests can order a Gear VR with experiences from China etc. on it. Marriott have yet to see a return on investment.

Northface used Google Cardboard to make viewers feel like they were at the top of Yosemite National Park, achieving coverage in many large news publications.

Virgin Holidays used Google Cardboard in selected shops to show travellers things like a roller coaster at Disney land. Booking through those shops increased 60% YoY.

Now what each of these examples have in common is the experience and associating their brand, rather ironically in the case of a tour operator taking you on a VR journey without moving, with innovation where it would seem innovation is somewhat hard to come by. How else can you innovate a holiday or appeal beyond its practical use and realistic boundaries to capture the imagination and immerse consumers in your brand.

VR and AR without question are going to continue grabbing the tech headlines. And brands are right to align themselves with the technology to create awareness, hype and if possible innovation credentials for a brand, but is it in danger of becoming a bit hackneyed very soon? With VR in its infancy and the above examples being a handful of many, can a brand justify the investment and break through the noise to make it work to engage and drive sales of their products? I suspect brands’ realisation that VR can be used as sales portal is practical but as an advertising tool, it will face the same challenges content providers face with streaming to achieve cognitive brand recall and inevitable advert skipping VR users will demand.

Read more at: http://wallblog.co.uk/2016/03/03/how-brands-are-using-virtual-and-augmented-reality-in-the-real-world/

Youth is overrated, disposable income should be the focus. While we may be able to believe that the economy is on the up, life for many since 2009 has been tough.

The CE market took a dip and has been only truly in recovery since 2014. More than half of TVs sold are smart (57 per cent). And the market in 2016 looks set to decline further thanks to the use of streaming devices, the breadth of product on offer and platforms from which to stream content.

Innovations such as Freeview Play are therefore essential to assist in reinvigorating the TV industry to a broader and, more importantly, younger audience to increase not only a retailer’s average basket value (ABV), but also the opportunity to attract the younger audience that they desire.

First-time buyers shouldn’t be forgotten either as an opportunity to offer IoT packages that assist in furnishing their homes at a price point that benefits both. With 59 per cent of UK consumers stating they would benefit from having an IoT device in their home, the opportunity is clear for retailers and brands to sell the lifestyle benefits of their products.

Brand experience is not exclusive to older generations – a brand speaks uniquely to every individual and brands can, through arrogance and ignorance, be completely dismissed by a generation making way for new brands perceived by a younger audience as a bit more ‘edgy’ and innovative.

While social media usage in relation to shopping habits is still at a low level within the CE/tech sector, it is on the increase and becoming an increasingly important medium to generate interest in a brand and driving sales among a younger audience in retail.

A recent study on shopper ‘tribes’ revealed 13.3 per cent use social media to tell friends about products and brands that they have bought – a 15 per cent increase on 2014 – and 10.2 per cent share photos of tech and CE products with friends via text or social media, in particular Instagram, before they buy in order to garner opinions. Amazingly, this is a significant 66 per cent increase on the previous year’s study (2014) and demonstrates the increasing importance in merchandising and showcasing your products to optimum effect, so that they appeal to as wide an audience as possible.

Interestingly, almost one-in-10 people (9.6 per cent) use social media to tell friends about the gifts they have just bought. More importantly, such posts are a useful barometer and retailers should consider how people share such posts, especially if the product was bought or available from their store, within a store’s social media platforms.

Social media is increasingly becoming more prevalent in shaping the decision-making process of considered items, those items we choose to save for and invest in. It is especially relevant with tech and CE purchasing and more so among a younger demographic who seek out new trends and brands.

So, in addition to managing social media, it’s also important to keep those window displays and your signage sharp, avoiding clutter, in order to encourage passers-by to want to come in and browse rather than have to venture in due to a distress purchases.

Visual impact is as important as the service you offer. Avoid handwritten signs and too many offers or price-downs. Keep it clean and seasonal to appeal to shoppers of all ages and in particular those on a budget, such as younger people.

In addition to national TV and print advertising campaigns, look around your region at which brands you stock that are advertising on outdoor media sites, such as bus stops, billboards, etc. There may be one opposite or round the corner from your store that appeals to a certain demographic. So link your display space to drive brand recall and increase the opportunity to invite those valuable browsers in-store and convert them into customers.

Premium pricing and messaging may only serve to deter a younger age group, so retailers should offer products and use messaging – in-store, on their website and on social media – that appeals to all pockets, ages and tastes.

Read more at: http://ertonline.co.uk/opinion/social-science/