Data points: retail penetration rates.One useful measure of channel performance is a software title's retail penetration rate--in essence, the number of retail outlets retail outlet n → punto de venta retail outlet n → point m de vente retail outlet retail n → where a product is actually on the shelf. PC Data, a leading retail market research firm, recently began tracking chain-level penetration rates for more than 5,000 retail SKUs, and the numbers reveal surprisingly spotty spot·ty adj. spot·ti·er, spot·ti·est 1. Lacking consistency; uneven. 2. Having or marked with spots; spotted. spot distribution for the vast majority of software titles. Of the more than 5,000 active SKUs (those with monthly sales greater than $500) in PC Data's monthly sample base, less than 2% make an appearance on the shelves of at least three-quarters Noun 1. three-quarters - three of four equal parts; "three-fourths of a pound" three-fourths common fraction, simple fraction - the quotient of two integers three-quarters npl → of 16 major chains. In fact, the majority (74%) of active SKUs show up in less than a quarter of the chains that PC Data surveys. One important consequence of this spotty distribution pattern is that a high retail penetration rate often turns out to be more important--at least in "impulse impulse, in mechanics: see momentum. Impulse (mechanics) The integral of a force over an interval of time. For a force F , the impulse J over the interval from t0 to t1 " categories--than superior features, awards, or strong brand identity. Not surprisingly, publishers with broad retail penetration (in particular, Microsoft, Broderbund, and Intuit in·tu·it tr.v. in·tu·it·ed, in·tu·it·ing, in·tu·its Usage Problem To know intuitively. [Back-formation from intuition. ) tend to get even their marginal titles into the channel quickly, compared to newcomers who have to acquire shelf space one chain at a time. It's also not surprising that most of the best-distributed SKUs are targeted at consumer buyers, since several of the mass-market chains in PC Data's sample base--Babbages, Price Costco, Software Etc., and Wal-Mart--aren't primary destinations for business customers. (The most successful business titles, including Microsoft Office Microsoft's primary desktop applications for Windows and Mac. Depending on the package, it includes some combination of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook along with various Internet and other utilities. , WordPerfect for Windows, Delrina's Winfax Pro, the Norton utilities Widely used utility programs for Windows and Macintosh from Symantec. Used to fix problems and fine tune the machine, they include functions to restore deleted files, diagnose the disk for corrupted data, defragment the disk and clean up and track changes to the Registry. line, and Lotus 1-2-3, typically achieve a maximum of 75% penetration.) But retail penetration rates aren't simply a function of product category: The best-distributed titles typically end up in about twice as many chains as their other category competitors. PC Data, 11260 Roger Bacon Dr., Reston, Vir. 22090; 703/435-1025. Shelf Space Champions Software SKUs with 94%-100% Retail Penetration Rates (ranked by total unit sales unit sales Sales measured in terms of physical units rather than dollars. Unit sales data are often used by financial analysts when evaluating the health of a company. for September "95) Windows 95 Upgrade CD Win 95 Microsoft Windows 95 Upgrade Windows 95 Microsoft Microsoft Plus Windows 95 Microsoft Quicken Windows Intuit Myst CD MPC Broderbund Print Shop Deluxe CD Ensemble CD Windows Broderbund Microsoft DOS 6.x Upgrade MS-DOS Microsoft Doom II CD MS-DOS GT Interactive Lion King Storybook CD MPC Disney Myst CD Macintosh Broderbund Just Grandma & Me CD MPC/Macintosh Living Books Little Monster at School CD MPC/Macintosh Living Books Source: PC Data Retail Report, September 1995 |
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