TomTom selection at Best Buy

[CynicX]

Personally I would consider Best Buy to be one of the best stores (of its kind) in the area. If I wanted a electronic device my first stop would be the local best buy...

Anyway today I was there looking at video game stuff and whatever and figured I would check out the GPS selection before I left..

To my surprised the selection was limited and pathetic at best. There were a bunch of Garmin units ONE magelin unit and no Tomtom's. After looking for awhile I found they had two Tomtoms in a "locked cage" and the units were a 340 and a 130. Both boxes looked tattered and torn, there was no display model or anything.

I can tell you first hand, being a Tomtom "fan" I wouldnt have bought a Tomtom there. If I didnt know better I wouldnt have even known there was a Tomtom there to buy....

I've found a similar ordeal at Cabella's (sporting store) because they had 20 Garmin models and 1 Tomtom 730 for sale.

Anyway, what do you guys think about this? Is this because Tomtom isnt paying enough for advertising or these store just dont care? It sucks because I think if you really wanted a superior GPS unit the 340 would trumph most Garmin units. These store are not providing adequate services to their customers but maybe I just dont know all the details.

I'm curious about input for other regions then mine. The stores in question are the Bel Air, MD Best Buy and the Hamburg, PA Cabellas (awesome store if you are into sporting/guns/whatever)...

 

[dhn]

A local BB near me has about 3 or 4 TT models among the various gps displayed. The 730, 930 and 130 as I remember. We don't have a 740 in Canada.

 

[dervari]

My local BB had a One*XL, 730, XL330, and 930 on display. I took my Blackberry in to see if it would pair and do data before I purchased a 730 from Amazon.

 

[PSJ]

Here in central, Florida the TT displays are crap !

But, they do tend to have many of the models in the locked case. That's not much help when your looking to test a new model.


Most of the other stores displays are also crap !

Staples and Office Depot sell a few of the TT models, but they are never on display, just locked up in the back.

You would NEVER know they sold them unless you asked.



.

 

[gatorguy]

The issue at Staples (from what I was told) is that TomTom is no longer paying to set up a display like they did during the holidays. I know some stores accept pay for placement, so someone like Garmin or Magellan could pay Best Buy for primary shelf space. Don't know for a fact that Best Buy operates that way. In any case, it could be that TomTom has simply reduced/eliminated marketing budgets for in-store displays. Money is tight nowadays.

 

[dhn]

The last time I was in a Future Shop here (owned by Best Buy) a couple of weeks ago, there was a special TomTom cardboard display with their units, such as they are here.....

 

[gatorguy]

Yes, the kind of display that Tomtom had at Staples I imagine. Also, at least when Circuit City was in business, the TomTom display was supposed to be maintained by the TT rep I think. I know that both Garmin and TomTom used to go in for employee training when new models were released. Don't know if that (still?) happens with big retailers like Best Buy/Future Shop.

 

[mvl]

Here in Boston, Tomtom is prominently displayed in Best Buy.

My store had a separate tower in the way of the GPS section that had a big "Why get Tomtom" sign. Then it had a whole row of Tomtoms. Most stores displayed the same things - a 740 and a 340 on the endcap, then a row with a second 740, a 630, a 340, a 140 and a 330.

A few weeks ago, it even had a huge posterboard comparing a grid of the the GO/XL/ONE lines, wih a high end (740/340/140) column vs a low-end (630/330/130) column.

Tomtom's were definitely the most prominently displayed in my area's Best Buys. Perhaps Tomtom is picking the regions where it wants to pay Best Buy for in-store advertising.

 

[Sellador]

I just bought my TT 740 at Sam's today and also looked at Best Buy. BB had several TT models including the 730 and 740. I didn't buy it there, however, since the 740 cost over $100 more at BB than at Sam's. The 730 at BB was also more expensive than the 740 at Sam's. Anyway, there were only a couple of Garmin units on display (none high-end), a couple of Magellan and some miscellaneous brands. On balance, TT was more prominent in this (Central Virginia) store than any other brand.

 

[CynicX]

The issue at Staples (from what I was told) is that TomTom is no longer paying to set up a display like they did during the holidays. I know some stores accept pay for placement, so someone like Garmin or Magellan could pay Best Buy for primary shelf space. Don't know for a fact that Best Buy operates that way. In any case, it could be that TomTom has simply reduced/eliminated marketing budgets for in-store displays. Money is tight nowadays.

Reducing sales to save money....Unlikely, thats an American business ethic..

 

[CynicX]

Here in Boston, Tomtom is prominently displayed in Best Buy.

My store had a separate tower in the way of the GPS section that had a big "Why get Tomtom" sign. Then it had a whole row of Tomtoms. Most stores displayed the same things - a 740 and a 340 on the endcap, then a row with a second 740, a 630, a 340, a 140 and a 330.

A few weeks ago, it even had a huge posterboard comparing a grid of the the GO/XL/ONE lines, wih a high end (740/340/140) column vs a low-end (630/330/130) column.

Tomtom's were definitely the most prominently displayed in my area's Best Buys. Perhaps Tomtom is picking the regions where it wants to pay Best Buy for in-store advertising.

The sales rep is lost because of his TeleAtlas map in route....

 

[cnynctry]

Maybe the profit margin is smaller with tomTom units so the store pushes the other brand.

 

[sageuvagony]

The issue at Staples (from what I was told) is that TomTom is no longer paying to set up a display like they did during the holidays. I know some stores accept pay for placement, so someone like Garmin or Magellan could pay Best Buy for primary shelf space. Don't know for a fact that Best Buy operates that way. In any case, it could be that TomTom has simply reduced/eliminated marketing budgets for in-store displays. Money is tight nowadays.

This is exactly right. Many many companies do still pay for good locations of their products though. I used to work at a gas station, and The beer companies would pay us to keep their product in the middle of the store with many life sized cardboard celebrities holding a specific beer.