Products like new photo ID and card printers, as well as handheld GPS devices, are among some of the top-selling products helping retailers and their customers drive business.
That’s one of the main retail trends that emerged in 2006 and will continue to fuel sales this year, said Bill Romano, director of marketing at distributor Wynit, North Syracuse, N.Y.
“Outdoor-type applications are growing,” Romano said, referring to sales through Wynit’s two main customer groups: big-box retailers and smaller regional and independent dealers. “Bikers and hikers and white-water rafters are buying these up. It shows that consumer electronics devices are really crossing over to the outdoors. Portability, especially with GPS devices, will continue to be strong.”
Some of the distributor’s best-selling handhelds included models by Garmin, TomTom and Magellan. Those sales signal the growing popularity of wireless and other electronic devices that target lifestyles.
Devices like portable GPSs, inexpensive digital cameras and in-store photo printing services have also helped specialty retailers – bike shops and outdoor activity outfitters, to name a few – broaden their offerings and increase sales.
“I think dealers are more willing to try different things. They’ll ask us to send one or two different items to see if they’ll sell,” Romano said. “That’s the biggest strength we bring to dealers because we can help them grow.”
Photo ID and card printers by Fargo, Zebra and Datacard are also fueling growth for photo retailers and their customers. “When we introduced some of those concepts, some people asked why do it,” Romano said. “But school photographers already had a lock on a particular business segment and found a lot of growth in those types of sales.”
To help dealers choose the right product and technologies, quickly procure it and effectively sell it, Wynit and other distributors are beefing up their training facilities, improving back-office systems and offering more training and marketing programs to their retail customers.
