Best Buy Offers Women Smart Fitness Solutions – Just in Time for New Year’s
Posted on | January 6, 2011 | No Comments
By Stephen Reily
Several years ago, Best Buy declared it was trying to serve women better. A new health/fitness initiative suggests they are actually getting it right.
Old stereotypes assumed women weren’t as interested in consumer electronics as men were, so companies like Best Buy spent their marketing resources on “gear heads” with product-oriented offerings.
We now know that women are buying consumer electronics on a scale similar to men. At VibrantNation.com, a recent survey of our Boomer women members found that they were more likely to have purchased certain tech gadgets (like e-readers) than any other consumers. (And their use of devices like smart phones for purposes other than telephoning had more than doubled since last year!)
Recognizing the value of women consumers is the first step towards winning their business. The second step is to understand their motivation. Where a man simply wants a specific product at a specific price, a woman is looking for the perfect product, one that will solve a problem or support other important goals in her life.
Health and fitness is one such goal for women of all ages, and Best Buy just announced it would support this goal by rolling out a line of health and fitness products at 600 stores across the country (and online).
Best Buy started slowly last year, testing this concept in 40 stores. It you know how a woman likes to shop – looking for bundled products that help her solve a problem – you won’t be surprised that the test went well. And Best Buy has supported a woman’s desire to make smart shopping decisions by offering a 30-foot presentation area that lets shoppers sample many devices before they buy, and training its “Best Buy Blue Shirts” to help shoppers better understand how technology can support their personal wellness.
Chris Koller, VP of Best Buy’s Portable Electronics Solutions Group said, “We clearly tapped into a desire for Best Buy to provide the latest and greatest technology to enhance health regimens, and to help people discover how they can integrate these devices with other personal technology to monitor and share their progress, and to stay motivated.”
Best Buy, famous in December for parking lots crowded with Christmas shoppers, may become the New Year’s Resolution store as well, and guarantee more business from women throughout the year.
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Stephen Reily is founder and CEO of VibrantNation.com, the leading online community for Baby Boomer women. Based on Vibrant Nation’s insights and research on this important demographic, Stephen co-wrote (with Carol Orsborn, Ph.D.) of Vibrant Nation: What Boomer Women 50 Plus Know, Think, Do and Buy, the definitive guide for marketers trying to reach this important demographic. Contact him at Stephen@vibrantnation.com and follow him at www.twitter.com/VibrantBoomers
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