Providing Shoppers With Brand-Specific Recommendations Differentiates Big Box Electronics Retailers From Mass Merchant Stores During the Big Screen TV

J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Providing Shoppers With Brand-Specific Recommendations Differentiates Big Box Electronics Retailers From Mass Merchant Stores During the Big Screen TV Shopping Proce

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., March 12 /PRNewswire/

-- Shoppers who visit big box retailers for big screen televisions (sets with screens measuring 40 inches or larger) are more likely to receive recommendations of specific TV brands than
are shoppers at mass merchandise stores, according to the J.D. Power and
Associates and Market Force Information Television Retailer Insights(SM) report.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050527/LAF028LOGO-a)

The report, produced jointly by J.D. Power and Associates and Market Force
Information, compiles the findings of more than 8,000 anonymous mystery
shoppers who shopped at more than 4,500 electronics retailers during 2008. The
mystery shopping research investigates salespersons' product knowledge and the
types of recommendations they make to customers.
The report finds that salespersons at big box retailers (such as Best Buy and
HH Gregg) tend to provide brand-specific recommendations to big screen TV
shoppers much more often than do salespeople at mass merchandisers (such as
Walmart and Target). A wide majority of salespersons in big box retail stores
will recommend a specific TV brand, with an average of 86 percent of
salespeople providing recommendations for LCD-type sets and 77 percent
providing brand recommendations for plasma TVs. However, even when shoppers
specifically request brand recommendations, a high percentage of salespersons
at mass merchant stores fail to provide any type of brand-specific
recommendation to shoppers. Among salespersons at mass merchandise stores, 51
percent declined to recommend a specific brand of plasma TV and 22 percent
declined to provide a brand recommendation for an LCD set.
Among salespersons who provide shoppers with brand recommendations for LCD
televisions, 37 percent recommend Samsung, while 30 percent recommend Sony.
Among salespersons who provide brand recommendations for plasma TVs, 36 percent
recommend Panasonic sets.
"Manufacturers and retailers can both benefit from increasing employee
training to make their salespersons more knowledgeable about the features and
benefits of each brand, which, in turn, will make sales staff better able to
address the needs and questions of shoppers--ultimately leading to a more
satisfying shopping experience," said Lawrence Wu, senior director of the
technology practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "The fact that many
salespersons fail to provide any brand recommendations to big screen TV
shoppers represents an opportunity for manufacturers to increase their brand recognition."
The report also finds that recommendations of plasma display sets by
salespersons increased considerably between the first and fourth quarters of
2008. During the first three months of 2008, approximately 17 percent of
salespersons recommended plasma big screen televisions to shoppers. This
increased to 26 percent between October and December 2008.
"During the past year, there has been a considerable increase in the
frequency of salespeople articulating key advantages of plasma TVs, including
smooth motion of fast-moving objects, better color and deeper blacks,"
said Wu.
The report finds that sales staff at big box retailers are far more likely to
inform big screen television shoppers of services the store offers--such as
delivery and installation--as well as other competitive advantages. For
example, nearly 60 percent of salespersons at big box retailers mention that
the store offers television installation services. In contrast, 45 percent of
television salespersons at mass merchants do not mention to shoppers any extra
services or advantages of making a purchase at their store.
The top five reasons for purchasing a big screen TV at a big box store, as
mentioned by salespersons, are installation services, financing, special sale
pricing, price matching and delivery. Although salespersons at mass merchants
mention advantages of purchasing at their stores infrequently, when advantages
are mentioned they tend to center around low prices, flexible return policies
and low sales pressure.
"Although low prices are important to shoppers, the importance of good
customer service cannot be overlooked, particularly in the current economic
environment," said Karl Maier, chief executive officer of Market Force.
"While mass merchant chains often have a reputation for having the lowest
prices, shoppers who are looking to receive the greatest value for their money
may turn to big box retailers, where they can also receive delivery,
installation and financing services as well as price-matching guarantees."

About Market Force Information
Market Force Information Inc. is the leading global customer experience
information and insights company for multi-location businesses including major
retailers, restaurants, grocery and convenience stores, financial institutions,
entertainment studios and consumer packaged goods companies. With more than 120
years of combined industry experience, Market Force Information has pioneered
the industry with a suite of customer experience information solutions - from
300,000 field associates, to real customer surveys, to proprietary decision
support tools - that provides a holistic view of the customer's on-site
experience and identifies the actions required at the store level to increase
customer loyalty and improve financial performance. For more information,
please visit: http://www.marketforce.com/.

About J.D. Power and Associates
Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a
global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors
including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, Web
intelligence and customer satisfaction. The company's quality and satisfaction
measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For
more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance,
health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit
JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The
McGraw-Hill Companies.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global
information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial
services, education and business information markets through leading brands
such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and
J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40
countries. Sales in 2008 were $6.4 billion. Additional information is available
at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

Media Relations Contacts:
John Tews; J.D. Power and Associates; Troy, Mich.; (248) 312-4119; media.relations@jdpa.com
Rushton McGarr; Market Force Information; Boulder, Colo., (303) 402-6916; press@marketforce.com