But if they thought it worthwhile, they would simply join. No real need to rush out and buy a chain of electronic retail stores to offer fly buys.
Printable View
Flybuys and any other loyalty rewards system has a built in factor into the price we pay for the goods. Myself I would much prefer a cash discount.
The wife and myself have been collecting flybuys for many years, and by the time you have accumulated sufficient points to by bar of chocolate they expire. I am guessing this will apply to many others also.
Last year when I upgraded my TV at N.L. when asked if I could forgo my flybuy points for a cash discount , he said this couldn’t be done, but would offer me a large discount on any other product in the shop I may wish to purchase.
They only winners here are the loyalty rewards operators.
Interestingly I see the Flybuys as a negative in some cases. For some they will draw in the customers and for others that will be repelled. Your comments support my thoughts. Last time I wanted a TV I went to NL and tried to get the price down but they stuck to their guns on the basis they offered Flybuys and it was a wonderful deal because of them. I didn't agree and went and spent the money else where.
Good for some, bad for others. Worth offering on that basis? Maybe? Maybe not?
When shopping recently I was in a big box retailer and noticed another customer scanning the barcode on some fridges. I got chatting and discovered he was using his smart phones pricespy application to find the lowest web advertised price. It's available for Android and iPhone. A nice quick way to figure out how much you can squeeze the retailer. NL is usually at the expensive end of the list. Probably because they offer Flybuys. They need to keep up and adapt to different ways that shoppers find out information.
LOL, the flybuys aspect is a very interesting aspect part of this NL purchase isn't it?
One does wonder that if WHS were in future to capitalise off their NL purchase by rolling out premium products across their entire WHS brands, not just red sheds but the stationery side as well. Also consider the supply-chain aspect - Would WHS because of their NL purchase be able to secure larger quantities of more premium brands at lower direct costs and keep retail prices the same or lower retail prices of premium products to match those of current WHS brands?
Would WHS use the store within a store concept as well? ie. walk into WHS to purchase general goods only to have people enticed by shiny TV's in the NL section of WHS?
Or vice-versa with someone coming to buy a blender or new food processor and at the same time walking over to buy some cheaper WHS brand food&drink small goods, or buying a vacuum cleaner in the NL section and then decide they want to purchase a new rug for the living area?
Of course any real smart consumer would take their time and shop around before buying or more commonly buy online, ignoring the marketing aspects of flybuys. But then if that sounds like you then you're probably not WHS' target market then are you?
What I don't get, is why not just shop online? In other words, why are you in a shop at all?
This "price comparison" stuff really isn't a comparison at all - you're comparing someone that has rental, stock and staff overheads to someone who does not!
To utilise those extra overheads, then force a comparison against someone who doesn't have them really makes no sense to me unless people don't see any value in shops. Which takes me back to the original question, if there is not value in shops, why not just shop entirely online?
The only other rationale, and I must admit the welfare state pops into my head at this point, is that a lot of people like the convenience of shops, expect to be able to look at / touch / try things in a shop but then buy online for the rest of history, they know deep down that if everyone acted like them the whole system would fall over, but are betting that not everyone will!
I will....bow out at this stage and avoid getting philosophical.
So the question arises...were you smart enough to invest in Amazon early? And also could you put on your stargazers hat and see WHS as an early genesis/uptake of the NZ version of Amazon. I could certainly see that happening and could anyone else position themselves in that place....cant think of one. WHS is a longterm BIG buy for me.
The reason why NLG went with and kept two brands often right beside each other was that they did some market research and found out that the average shopper goes into two appliance stories before making a purchase. They also ensured the two appeal to slightly different groups and stock slightly different products and/or brands. I would judge this a pretty successful strategy based on NLG's 25% market share in a crowded market. Most consumers would have no idea that Bond and Bond and Noel Leeming are owned by the same company.
Also all this analyst talk about a low margin is a bit silly. Yes margin is important but so is the quantum!! 1% margin on a $1000 TV is worth more than a 10% margin on a $50 piece of furniture. Even though both will have similar transport, storage and display opportunity costs.