Did you know that Cybershop (CYSP) is going to open a website called Electronics.net on Tuesday 10/27? The site is being opened in conjunction with TOPS Appliances, and will sell consumer electronics. Looks good for a point or two from here.
dailynews.yahoo.com
Friday October 16 1:31 PM ET
Consumer electronics chain hits the Web
By Margaret Kane, ZDNet
Consumers have gotten used to buying books, clothes and computers online, and now a major East Coast chain is betting that
they're ready for other home electronics.
Tops Appliance City Inc., along with online retailer CyberShop International Inc. (Nasdaq:CYSP), will launch electronics.net
October 27, offering everything from camcorders to refrigerators.
CyberShop will be handling the e-commerce end of the joint venture, while Tops, which runs seven stores in the New
York-area, will handle procurement.
CyberShop CEO Jeff Tauber said that the company decided to get into the market because home electronics was proving to
be one of the most popular sections of his online store. While some of the items featured in electronics.net are available
elsewhere online -- most notably computers -- Tauber said the companies thought there was a need for a one-stop shop that
could dominate the market in the same way that the bricks-and-mortar electronics stores do.
"It was clear to us the customer was looking for a category killer -- one site, deep with products, and specializing in a given
category," he said.
Consumer electronics and appliances are a $64 billion market in the real world, and Tauber says the demographic the stores
attract is particularly suited to the Web.
"You've got the perfect demographic -- men aged 24 to 39, who are into gadgets and computers," he said.
As in computers, consumers looking for electronics are primarily feature-driven, said Jupiter Communications analyst Nicole
Vanderbilt. Electronics.net allows users to create feature comparison charts for various products, and offers a glossary to
explain techno terms.
And while some of the real world stores are struggling, there's not that much competition online. Two of the biggest names in
consumer electronics, Best Buy and Circuit City, do not currently offer online sales.
Consumer gap online
But Electronics.net isn't the only company to see the gap. A new online venture, 800.com, recently launched its own consumer
electronics shopping site.
"It's untapped in the online world and it appeals to a strong demographic," said Vanderbilt. "[800.com] is online only, which
comes with its own set of hurdles. But it does free them to be nimble. On the other hand, the buying power and relationships
that Tops has will be helpful."
Electronics.net will not offer products cheaper than traditional stores, but it will honor the retail mantra of "we'll meet the lowest
price." And Tauber said that shipping costs may be offset by the fact that purchases won't require sales tax, except for New
Jersey residents.
But some consumers may not realize that they'll have the same freedom to haggle that they would in a real-world store,
Vanderbilt said.
"A consumer that does a couple of searches at electronics retailers may not realize that listed price isn't necessarily definitive,"
she said.
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