Why The National Consumer Electronics Superstore Model Is Obsolete @ Forbes

I noticed this story flipping through my google news feed, (Something that Hardware Asylum has been barred from contributing to, thanks again Google) and found this story at Forbes.

The article takes a stab at why brick and mortar electronics stores are closing.  Case in point, Circit City and CompUSA both sold consumer electronics and they were forced to close.  Most would say that online shopping took away their consumers and they were forced to go out of business.  While I agree with that statement you can also add a lackluster selection of components and poorly trained staff.  Of course, with that being said, what about Best Buy, Frys and Microcenter? don't these places sell consumer electronics?

And while online shopping (translation, Amazon,) has no doubt voraciously siphoned market share from physical stores on everything from computers to TVs, e-commerce isn’t the only reason consumer electronics no longer appears to work as a single product category at a national big box chain.

Over the past 15 years, “There’s been a proliferation of competition, from mass retailers to highly specialized retailers, as more and more retailers are carrying electronics since it’s more important to consumers,” said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis, consumer technology, for market research firm The NPD Group, listing chains as diverse as Wal-Mart, Staples, Kohl’s, Big Lots and Costco, which have dramatically expanded their electronics assortments both in store and online.

According to the article the solution is diversity.  Diversity to the extent of removing EVERY computer part from their stores OR stocking only cheap mainstream hardware.  The idea here is that consumers who actually want good stuff know where to get it leaving the computer illiterate and shoppers with no budget to buy whatever is cheapest item on the shelf.

I was once asked the following questions
- "Why there are no Overclockers in Boise Idaho?"
- "Why doesn't anyone care about Overclocking in the US?" 

I think this article answers the question and sadly having the US consumer electronics market is being driven by the Apple/Samsung hardware market model "Buy it, Break it then Buy Another" doesn't help.

As hardware enthusiasts it is difficult to draw attention to the hobby in a market situation like this.  First of all without a common place to go (like a computer shop) it is difficult to know who in your area is interested in this stuff.  Furthermore since the target demographic is buying online there is no incentive for them to even bother going out or anyone pushing them to actually buy higher end hardware.  (I shudder to think there are kids out there who are proud of their Dell black boxes).

The one positive is the role of the professional hardware reviewer.  Given that you cannot go down to the local computer shop to inspect a product in person you are left reading looking for reviews.  Most of these are written by "idiots" complaining about something they didn't understand and a few are the results of doing extensive searches to find the answers.  Either way, review sites will play a key role in this ecosystem and with any luck there are a few out there getting it right.

I'll save my opinions on that topic for another rant.

Related Web URL: http://www.hardwareasylum.com/n6645/Why-The-Nation...