Store associate what items are members coming into the sore for or what are the most sold items online? Since the pull out of whirlpool have you noticed a decline in members in the appliance section?
6 replies (most recent on top)
Years ago the Sears store I worked at actually did sell state lotto tickets at the Customer Convenience Center. In those days you could cash your paycheck at the cash office window. They had tickets available there as well if you wished to purchase some with the proceeds from your paycheck. No, I never won!
@1vvw - It's like a giant convenience store! All you need now is lotto tickets.
As a customer I go to Sears to check for small appliances like toasters or coffee makers but only buy if I have points otherwise it is cheaper elsewhere. I have purchased comforter sets and they do offer a decent selection.
I no longer like their clothes(for women) they fall apart too quickly with washings or they shrink, They are made too cheaply, same with shoes. But occasionally will find a pair of sneakers that I know will not last long but if they are on sale and I have points and get them cheap enough, I'll buy.
Large appliances we do better at Home Depot or Lowes. Home Depot gives military vets a discount(which we qualify for) and hubby works for Lowes so there's an employee discount available, so Sears can not really compete.
There really isn't much we buy there anymore. We pop in about once every 2 months and only about 25% of the time do I actually purchase something. That means our family will make a purchase 2-3 times a year with an average total of about $40-50.
I'd assume they're looking at kenmores since they're usually on slightly better sales anyway. The whirlpool made kenmores typically have the same features as whirlpools anyway. Also the same parts. Aside from branding and the shape of shell, they're the same machine basically.
When I worked for sears I very rarely had people buying whirlpool over kenmore because the kenmore was usually less by a bit.
That said, losing those brands is still really bad. It'll make customers feel like they have less choices and they may wanna go somewhere else to see the other brands. So it'll really boil down to if they're willing to come back or if sears has enough to convince people to leave the first store to visit them.
At my Kmart store we sell a lot of alcohol, tobacco, and junk food. The store always seems to be down 20-30% in sales to last year, but we are constantly up double digits for alcohol & tobacco from last year. The milk cooler is usually mostly empty, but we are always well stocked with a large variety of beer. It's actually sad, but that is our core customer.
Craftsman, grilles, lawnfurniture, and clothes mainly.
The appliance orders online are mainly for delivery. Nobody picks up a washing machine (rarely).