Target indeed carrying the new iPods...
...not that you'd ever actually KNOW.
I'm there today and end up in the electronics area. In the past, they had a nice little acrylic display with an actual working iPod (the previous generation, of course), some signage with a nice, prominent Apple logo and then actual boxes down below that you could see. In other words, there was actually a little thought/effort put into, say, SELLING them.
For months now, as we all know, Target hasn't been carrying them. But today I go walking by the little counter there in the electronics section and ask the guy "are you guys selling Apple iPods or not? You used to, then it stopped, then I heard you were starting to again...what's the scoop?"
"Oh yeah, totally. We got 'em right here!"
He bends down, behind the counter, opens a closet up and pulls out a boxed 10GB model (the new ones, with the four buttons and smaller/thinner body).
Come to find out, this was a pretty cool guy. A total Mac head. When I asked about the iPod he went "you an Apple guy?" and, just based on previous experiences, I was braced for some smarmy remark when I replied "totally".
But he gives me the big "thumbs up" and we proceed to talk about Jaguar, Macs in general, etc.
But anyway...
So I ask him "man, why aren't these set out on a shelf or at least a demo model set in the glass case where people know they're here?". I asked him "who in the world would EVER know they're here? You had to reach down to a closed/locked shelf, completely out of sight, and bring one up!"
He just chuckled and looked around like "yeah, no kidding...they took our old display and haven't provided anything new".
By "they" I don't know if he meant Apple, Target corporation or just the local goober management at that store.
Then he said "I've thought about bringing my 30GB model and showing it to people, so they can see...".
That's what we're reduced to: From decisions far out of our grasp and influence, we have to consider taking it upon ourselves to get the word out or properly advertise this gear.
With these new iPods and all, Apple should mandate that no less than 1 feet of space be given to show SOME sort of POP display or something.
The only thing I can think is that perhaps when iTunes and the online music store for Windows is unveiled later this year, places like Target and Best Buy will actually give these a bit more prominence. Actually Best Buy at least puts them on customer-accesissible shelves (yeah, they're at ankle level, but...). But Target?
If I wasn't a Mac geek and just felt like asking for the sport of it, I would've still thought Target wasn't carrying them.
I wonder, honestly, how many sales they manage to rack up with this "hide it down below until someone asks about it" approach?
Way to go, Target. Way to push the gear! Give an entire aisle to crappy cordless phones, 7 brands of TV/VCR cables, shoebox-sized universal remote controls, blank VCR tapes and "Garfield waving an American flag" mousepads. But stick the iPods inside a vault, never to be seen. Good thinking!
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I'm there today and end up in the electronics area. In the past, they had a nice little acrylic display with an actual working iPod (the previous generation, of course), some signage with a nice, prominent Apple logo and then actual boxes down below that you could see. In other words, there was actually a little thought/effort put into, say, SELLING them.
For months now, as we all know, Target hasn't been carrying them. But today I go walking by the little counter there in the electronics section and ask the guy "are you guys selling Apple iPods or not? You used to, then it stopped, then I heard you were starting to again...what's the scoop?"
"Oh yeah, totally. We got 'em right here!"
He bends down, behind the counter, opens a closet up and pulls out a boxed 10GB model (the new ones, with the four buttons and smaller/thinner body).
Come to find out, this was a pretty cool guy. A total Mac head. When I asked about the iPod he went "you an Apple guy?" and, just based on previous experiences, I was braced for some smarmy remark when I replied "totally".
But he gives me the big "thumbs up" and we proceed to talk about Jaguar, Macs in general, etc.
But anyway...
So I ask him "man, why aren't these set out on a shelf or at least a demo model set in the glass case where people know they're here?". I asked him "who in the world would EVER know they're here? You had to reach down to a closed/locked shelf, completely out of sight, and bring one up!"
He just chuckled and looked around like "yeah, no kidding...they took our old display and haven't provided anything new".
By "they" I don't know if he meant Apple, Target corporation or just the local goober management at that store.
Then he said "I've thought about bringing my 30GB model and showing it to people, so they can see...".
That's what we're reduced to: From decisions far out of our grasp and influence, we have to consider taking it upon ourselves to get the word out or properly advertise this gear.
With these new iPods and all, Apple should mandate that no less than 1 feet of space be given to show SOME sort of POP display or something.
The only thing I can think is that perhaps when iTunes and the online music store for Windows is unveiled later this year, places like Target and Best Buy will actually give these a bit more prominence. Actually Best Buy at least puts them on customer-accesissible shelves (yeah, they're at ankle level, but...). But Target?
If I wasn't a Mac geek and just felt like asking for the sport of it, I would've still thought Target wasn't carrying them.
I wonder, honestly, how many sales they manage to rack up with this "hide it down below until someone asks about it" approach?
Way to go, Target. Way to push the gear! Give an entire aisle to crappy cordless phones, 7 brands of TV/VCR cables, shoebox-sized universal remote controls, blank VCR tapes and "Garfield waving an American flag" mousepads. But stick the iPods inside a vault, never to be seen. Good thinking!
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Comments
I'm not saying that Target should carry iPods(out on shelves), in fact I'm saying the complete opposite, but they probably don't get as much moola per sale compared to other items. It's a sad fact.
CubeDude, how $#%#^@! hard is it to a) stick ONE tiny iPod inside the glass case or b) set one empty box out (it's about 7" square). Or even c) have what they had before, a nice little acrylic display. Didn't take up any more area than a coffeemaker.
Please. The space is there. I'm not saying they have to devote an aisle to it. Hell, not even 2 feet of counter/display face.
All those digital cameras in glass display, sitting on a prop with a little price/feature card below it. You think they could've find another 3-4" of space for an iPod to go in there?
And the first one who tries to flex their Marketing 101 muscle and recite what they learned in class about retail space vs. volume vs. sales gets a smack: there was an entire section at the end of the camera display where NOTHING was sitting. They could've put TWELVE iPods in this case I saw at Target today.
I'm only asking for one.
Got nothing to do with "shelf space" or any of that. At least at this location.
And to turn around what you said: then do you really think those silly mousepads and all these brands and lengths of TV/VCR/stereo cables are flying off the shelves on a hourly/daily basis? How many of those big-ass, 300-button RCA or GE universal remotes do you think they're selling in any given week?
Originally posted by pscates
I haven't seen that one. Interesting.
CubeDude, how $#%#^@! hard is it to a) stick ONE tiny iPod inside the glass case or b) set one empty box out (it's about 7" square). Or even c) have what they had before, a nice little acrylic display. Didn't take up any more area than a coffeemaker.
Please. The space is there. I'm not saying they have to devote an aisle to it. Hell, not even 2 feet of counter/display face.
All those digital cameras in glass display, sitting on a prop with a little price/feature card below it. You think they could've find another 3-4" of space for an iPod to go in there?
And the first one who tries to flex their Marketing 101 muscle and recite what they learned in class about retail space vs. volume vs. sales gets a smack: there was an entire section at the end of the camera display where NOTHING was sitting. They could've put TWELVE iPods in this case I saw at Target today.
I'm only asking for one.
Got nothing to do with "shelf space" or any of that. At least at this location.
And to turn around what you said: then do you really think those silly mousepads and all these brands and lengths of TV/VCR/stereo cables are flying off the shelves on a hourly/daily basis? How many of those big-ass, 300-button RCA or GE universal remotes do you think they're selling in any given week?
I agree with you. They give Disney Electronics a whole island. They could give the iPod 1/8th of that and not lose and cash at all.
Yeah, great job promoting the iPods, guy.
Pathetic, but whatchagonna do?
yeah, maybe if we emailed apple about this they would tell target to get off their @$$es and let people know this wonderful product exists. maybe they just figure people who shop at target wouldnt buy the ipod in the first place
anyone seen those target commercials of different cds with the outline of that girl jammin with headphones on? i think its a target commercial i could be wrong, but i swear i saw the said outlined girl holdin an ipod.
Guess what? I don't live in Omaha, so your set-up there doesn't really help or matter much, does it?
Here, at the one I'M talking about, there is no such display, so "looking before I rant" doesn't really apply. There's NOTHING to look at, you know?
This is one of those larger "super" Targets, by the way. If they had some sort of comparitive set-up, that would be fine. They don't even have THAT, so any "rant" is fairly well-justified in this case. Keeping a product COMPLETELY hidden, Brad, is just goofy. And not just the iPod. It could just as easily be batteries, game controllers, watches, etc.
How do they expect to sell something that no one can see or even knows exists? That's the point.