News

Several recent surveys on the Stereophile website have uncovered a surprising trend among audiophiles: Many of you are heading online to both used- and new-product vendors to make equipment purchases that have traditionally been made at specialty audio retailers.

While more consumer choice is almost always a good thing, it does put more pressure on smaller dealers, many of whom barely sneak into profitability each year. Our polling also reveals that audiophiles are increasingly willing to go out on a sonic limb to find components, with a whopping 68% of respondents saying that they have already bought something without hearing it first. As reader Russ Offutt notes, why worry when a product has "a favorable review and a 30-day, no-questions-asked return policy?"

Regardless, new research released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) indicates that specialty, high-end electronics retailers can still successfully attract consumers based on quality product and selection, but they need to "work harder to increase consumer awareness in a marketplace that also includes mass-merchant and big-box electronics stores."

According to the study, "Understanding Specialty, High-end Electronics Shoppers," the most popular places for consumers of all stripes (unlike the CEA, Stereophile polls skew towards audiophiles only) to shop for home audio and video equipment are mass-market retailers and general big-box electronics stores, with 62% and 57%, respectively, of consumers frequenting those outlets for their home audio and video needs. Only 15% of consumers report shopping for audio and video equipment at specialty, high-end stores.

The CEA also found that while specialty, high-end electronics stores draw a smaller percentage of consumer electronics shoppers than larger retail outlets, "consumers who do frequent specialty stores report the quality of available product as the primary driver. In comparison, the strongest motivations for shopping at other types of stores are price and convenient store locations."

The CEA's Joe Bates says, "Our research has shown that as consumers find more and more choices in the electronics retailer space, price and convenience become paramount in their decision making. Having said that, specialty store shoppers are uniquely focused on quality and value, and place less emphasis on price. In fact, we've found that specialty, high-end store shoppers spend more on home audio and video equipment annually than consumers who shop at mass-market or general CE stores."

The CEA research finds that the average US adult consumer spends $1178 on home audio and video products each year. By contrast, those who shop, at least in part, at specialty, high-end electronics stores spend $1985 on similar equipment annually.

John Flanner, chair of CEA's Professional Audio-Video Retailers (PARA) division, concludes, "This study confirms what we have long known. The specialty retail community offers consumers a unique shopping experience and a wealth of information. With an improved focus on promotion of our myriad strengths, this channel has the potential to increase customer satisfaction exponentially."