Electronics retailers in the U. S. are gearing up for a new eco-friendly electronics recycling reprogram, in an attempt to boost lagging sales and do their part for the environment at the same time.
So-called “big box” retailers, such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart have announced plans to incorporate a recycling program, allowing consumers to return old cell phones, MP3 players, computer hardware and nearly any other type of electronic gadget to receive store credit in the form of a consumer gift card. The amount of credit received will be based on the type of device returned and its condition.
Conveniently, consumers may return any electronic item, regardless of where they purchased it originally. The electronics recycling firm EcoNEW will handle collections and provide the in-store credit gift cards.
With the growing amounts of electronic “junk” clogging up our attics, garages and landfills, eco-friendly programs like those recently announced by Best Buy and Wal-Mart are likely to become more and more popular among retail electronics stores.
Other companies are offering a type of guaranteed buyback program, which is similar to the extended warranties already offered by some electronics retailers. The buyback program is in essence a type of consumer insurance against future upgrades that may render the electronics product out of date.
TechForward is one company handling guaranteed buyback programs for retailers. Their program boasts a respectable 12% conversion rate, and nearly 70% of the items covered under their buyback plan are eventually returned for a predetermined fee or store credit.
The US in general has been gradually shifting toward more ecological awareness over the last few years, and this trend is expected to continue after the 2008 presidential election. While George W. Bush has not been exactly friendly to environmental causes, all three of the remaining candidates for president, John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, all agree that global warming is a real phenomena, and that the United States should take more decisive action to protect the environment.
Along with this political change in policy — regardless of which candidate is actually elected president — is sure to come a cultural change toward greater ecological awareness. This cultural shift bodes well for companies promoting consumer recycling. And with Americans now buying and discarding electronic gadgets at an increasing rate, it makes good financial and ecological sense to provide incentives to recycle our discarded electronic “toys” for cash, instead of letting them continue to pileup in our closets and attics.
So far, American consumers seem receptive to the idea of recycling their aging electronics. It’s funny how many people will suddenly become “environmentalists” when they find out how much money they can save by trading in old electronic items.
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Despite the problems in the housing market and the weakness of the US dollar against foreign currencies, retail sales in the US continue to be vigorous, especially in the lower end of the marketplace. The Financial Times web site is reporting that Wal-Mart, the largest retail outlet in the world, saw an increase in sales of 2.6% in February, well above the company’s own forecasts, and more than double the prediction of Wall Street analysts.
One of Wal-Mart’s closest rivals, Target also saw increased sales in February, though at a much lower rate — less than 1%. Other discount retail outlets continue to beat market expectations as well. Family Dollar posted earnings well above market predictions, with a 1.5% increase in February sales.
Economists suggest that the sluggish economy may actually be good for lower-priced retailers such as Wal-Mart. And while this alone is not exactly cause for celebration on Wall Street, it is a sign that the US economy may be more resilient than the TV pundits would have us believe.
But while the discount outlets continue to be profitable, some high-end specialty stores are seeing a slowdown in sales. Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus are among the luxury department store brands showing flat sales so far in 2008, and Nordstrom has reported its third consecutive month of lower-than-expected sales figures.
This suggests that as the economy has become sluggish, consumers are becoming increasingly price conscious in their purchasing decisions. The low and medium segments of the retail marketplace seems to be the most profitable at the moment, but even some high-end luxury stores are thriving.
Online sales, for example, continue to be brisk in many areas, with companies such as Overstock.com beating market expectations so far in 2008. Expensive items, such as diamonds and jewelry also continued to sell briskly, though many retailers have cut prices to appeal to bargain hungry shoppers.
Times of recession often cause consumers to hold onto their money, and avoid spending any more than necessary on retail items. But that doesn’t mean that Americans are only buying necessities right now. Wal-Mart is reporting that sales in their entertainment division have been better than expected in 2008. The company has also seen gains in their health and grocery departments.
While many are convinced that the US is now in the midst of a recession, there is also reason to be optimistic; the restaurant and entertainment industries continue to be profitable, and even box office receipts at cinemas and theaters are up significantly over the same quarter last year. These figures suggest that the US economy may rebound much quicker than some “gloom and doom” analyst have predicted.
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Infoworld.com is reporting that eBay is shaking up its policies, and attempting to crack down on disreputable sellers. The changes are coming in response to warnings to eBay investors that 2008 profits may fall well below expectations.
With Wall Street already a bit jumpy lately, eBay Inc. is attempting to take a pro-active stance against flat earnings in 2008 by lowering their seller fees to increase the overall volume of sales on the mega-successful online auction site. The goal is to make eBay shopping safer for the consumer, and less expensive for sellers.
After raising their seller fees in 2006, eBay was roundly criticized by sellers, including some of their biggest “power sellers,” who saw their profit margins shrink under the weight of increased competition and higher eBay marketplace fees. eBay is now attempting to “roll back” fees to encourage greater volume of overall sales on the site, and hopefully, increase profits.
Specifically, eBay is reducing their “insertion fee” by 25% beginning February 20. This is a measure to reduce the risk incurred by sellers, particularly when items don’t sell. eBay’s current policy makes it very difficult for sellers to “take a chance” on an item that they are unsure will sell quickly. By lowering the fees eBay hopes that sellers will list a greater number of products. The company is also eliminating the fees associated with including photos on an auction listing.
But the news isn’t all good; while eBay is reducing the risk to merchants who list items that don’t sell, they are actually increasing the “final value” fee charged to a merchant when an item is sold. The bottom line is, eBay will still be making roughly the same amount of profit from sellers, they just won’t make as much from items that go unsold.
At the same time, eBay is attempting to improve their reputation among consumers by cracking down on “less than reputable” sellers. One long overdue policy change is in the way eBay handles search queries for items on its site. Sellers who have higher customer satisfaction rates will rank higher on the search results, while those with lower overall customer feedback scores will receive much less exposure.
This improvement alone should help crack down on unreliable or disreputable sellers, as merchants with lower customer satisfaction ratings will see their web traffic dwindle, while those who provide quality service will see an increase in the number of visitors to their auctions. This “nice guys finished first (on search results)” strategy should drastically improve both the safety and quality of customer service when buying on eBay.
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You hear a lot of talk about recycling these days, but until now, Americans haven’t heard much about the recycling of electronic gadgets. Target is testing a new electronics recycling program, under the name “pre-owned electronics.”
The Reuters wire service is reporting that Target.com has initiated a new program whereby the company will be selling various electronic “gadgets” on its web site that have been returned to Target retail stores.
Thus far, Target is only reselling a small variety of electronic gadgets under the so-called “electronics recycling” program. Game systems such as the Nintendo Game Cube are currently among the most popular of the recycled items, along with a variety of high-definition televisions by Toshiba and other manufacturers.
Other popular recycled electronic items included iPods and iPod Nanos, JVC video cameras, and other digital still and video cameras. Target claims that each of its recycled items has been thoroughly inspected and refurbished by an approved third-party company. Additionally, each recycled electronic item will carry the same 90 day guarantee that comes with all electronics sold at Target stores.
While the idea of selling refurbished items is certainly not new, major retail chains have avoided reselling electronics gadgets and other high-end items at their stores or on their web sites. Target’s new program is seen as a way of testing the waters, and will surely be watched closely by other “big box” retail outlets such as Best Buy, Wal Mart and Costco.
Consumers are likely to respond favorably to Target’s electronics recycling program, as it is often possible to pick up items at drastically reduced prices. For example, Target is currently selling a “recycled” 80 GB iPod video for only $200. Compare that to the normal Target retail price of a new unit at $319, and it’s easy to see how consumers could come out in favor of the new recycling program.
While Target is the first company to establish such a program in its electronics department, there are rumors that other major department chains are considering jumping on the bandwagon. If Target’s program proves a hit with customers, you can just about guarantee that their competition will follow suit with “recycling” programs of their own.
Critics have complained that calling the sale of what are essentially used goods “recycling,” is in fact very misleading. Some industry analysts see this as an attempt by Target to appear more “green” and eco friendly, without actually doing anything worthwhile for the environment. After all, broken or damaged electronics gadgets are already “recycled” by many companies, and the parts taken from these defective units are sometimes used in new products.
But whether Target’s new recycling program is misleading or not, it’s bound to find favor with budget-strapped consumers this holiday season.
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