DES MOINES, Iowa – A consumer looking for a clothes washer does a load of laundry to see if an appliance lives up to its advertising claims. And a shopper considering a new oven tries one out by baking a batch of cookies.
At Maytag Corp. appliance stores opening across the country, consumers are trying the company’s products before they buy them – taking the washer, dryer and oven equivalents of a test drive.
“In every other category, you can experience it before you put it in your house – your car, TV, stereo,” said Ron Dorf, a Maytag dealer in Minnetonka, Minn. “How come appliances are such a mystery?”
Working with independent store owners, Iowa-based Maytag is setting up more than 40 try-before-you-buy stores, with plans to triple the number over the next two years. Dorf opened his store in late December and said he’s found that customers are impressed with the option of hearing and seeing an appliance work.
The concept appears to be new, and not common practice at major appliance retailers. Maytag says it came to the idea after surveying appliance buyers to determine what they wanted in a shopping experience. Consumers test clothes washers and dishwashers most often.
“These are two appliances that have water involved, and people are very sensitive about the noise performance of it and its washing capability,” Dorf said.
Akshay Rao, chairman of the marketing department at the University of Minnesota’s Carlton School of Management, said that with the concept, Maytag is helping to reassure its customers that the appliances they’re going to buy have good quality.
“If my product was really bad, I would be a fool to provide you with that opportunity. So it must be a good product,” he said. “Whether or not people come in to check it out, it serves the purpose of convincing a suspicious marketplace that the product is, in fact, good.”
Lynette Morgan, of Seattle, wanted to test the appliances to see if they would wash the sleeping bags for her family, which enjoys camping. The Neptune washer and dryer handled them easily, she said.
Maytag plans to open another 60 stores by the end of the year and another 30 to 40 in 2005, said Rian Cain, head of business development. The stores also feature play areas for children where they can play or watch a video while their parents shop.
The first test site opened in 1998 in Des Moines, and lessons learned there were tested before focus groups in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Atlanta. Exit surveys found 84 percent of the customers were satisfied or completely satisfied with their shopping experience, Cain said.
More important for store owners like Dorf, customers frequently leave with a new appliance.
“Our close rate – that is, how many customers actually purchase that walk through the door – is running upward of 70 percent,” he said.
The stores sell most of Maytag’s major appliance brands, including Hoover floor care products and Maytag, Amana and Jenn-Air appliances.
Maytag, a company that relies on its reputation for reliability and quality, has traditionally focused a large share of its sales on higher-end buyers.
Chris Goodenow / The Herald
Jim and Sherry Cooley of Arlington inspect a washer and dryer at the Maytag store in Lynnwood in July 2003.
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