Christmas is coming, which means a boat load of accessories will be sold as gifts for iPods and iPhones. But can car stereo retailers cash in on the category?
The answer is yes, but only to a small degree.
First, a cautionary tale. About 3 years ago Car Fi in Springfield, MO bought about 400 iPod accessory SKUs. The store devoted a full wall to the products and advertised them. President Rick Snelson said he couldn’t make it work. “We’re just not known for the products. I tried, I heavily promoted…it just fell flat on its face….I even hired a specialist in the store. I tried for 12 months and failed miserably.”
Other specialists report a similar experience, because most accessories are sold when the iPod or iPhone is first purchased.
An exception may be headphones or ear buds as they are frequently lost or broken, so your customers might make an impulse buy.
Car Toys based in Seattle says it is testing selling headphones this year from multiple brands. The chain’s Jim Warren notes, “All I can really say is that iPod docks and cases are typically purchased with the iPod itself. Retailers who do a big job on iPod are likely the same retailers that will do best with iPod docks. Headphones are a little different in that the replacement cycle is more frequent than docks.”
Other retailers say they stock some accessories, but just in limited quantities.
SAS, which sells a “Woodees” line of audiophile ear buds, recommends that car electronics retailers stock accessories in “judicious” quantities and merchandise them on a wall behind the counter or somewhere secure by the cash register…..but not behind glass. “To me the only thing that sells behind glass is fish,” says president Jon Jordan.
Update! Total iPod/MP3/iPad accessory sales October 2008 through September 2009 were about $1.63 billion, said Robert Heiblim of Blue Salve. “As you can see this is a really big and vibrant category and as tablets and other MIDs impact it, it will grow again strongly,” he adds.
Source: CEoutlook
Feedback from ICE members seems to be in line with Barry’s thoughts.
12 volt retailers should carry a limited assortment of iPod accessories, but we limit it to earbuds, and impulse pick up items which we merchandise next to or integration display. USB cigarette lighter chargers, carry case with booster battery built in, emergency battery packs, etc. No more than 2’s and 3’s. We stock about a dozen SKU’s and do not anticipate anything deeper.
Laughing at Ira’s comment. Nothing like having overhead that is going to have a slow return. You need to set up an Apple store in the shop like the old days with the cell phones! I had 50 other comments, but saved them for another day
My story matches the car fi story we purchased a bunch of accessories only to have to sell them at a loss after holding them as long as possible.I agree that customers do not traditionaly look to the 12 volt retailer for these accesories.I don\\\’t see carrying these as a way to boost business.HD radio seems to be picking up with people asking about it more,i would recommend a unit with built in HD as people seem to be reluctant to buy a seperate tuner.
The answer is YES… What is the question? Anything that will bring new business into the 12 volt retailer is always welcome.