Retailers offer more niche genres
Stores merchandise titles around customer interests
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 6/20/2008
JUNE 20 | Retailers are distinguishing themselves and keeping customers happy by merchandising around the latest trends, no matter how narrow.
Amazon.com, Scarecrow Video and DVDEmpire.com are among retailers setting up sections that focus on such subjects as environmental films, Korean soap operas and police officers in an effort to let shoppers know they understand customer desires.
“The challenge of having such a large selection is finding the best way to optimize our customers’ shopping experience so that they can easily explore and find the DVD or genre of DVD they’re looking for,” Amazon spokeswoman Tammy Hovey said. “Creating new categories is just one way of doing that.”
Amazon site management will often take down sub-categories to make room for niches that match customer tastes at that moment. Amazon launched its ‘Green’ section in April coinciding with Earth Day. It includes various products that promote sustainability and conservation, including Warner Home Video’s Six Degrees Could Change the World and The 11th Hour.
Earlier this year, Amazon rolled out a sci-fi area called ‘Cosmotopia,’ which was available for a limited time.
Seattle-based Scarecrow first carved out a Korean soap opera section a couple of years ago when employees thought customers’ love for Korean horror flicks, such as Tartan Video’s OldBoy, would likely spill into other genres hailing from the region. YA Entertainment distributes many of these soap operas on DVD after they air in South Korea and on U.S. foreign-language stations. Popular titles include a 16-episode set of Full House and a 20-episode set of Winter Sonata.
“We don’t think about over-categorizing—it distinguishes us,” Scarecrow buyer Mark Steiner said. “But we are consistent with the compartmentalizing and make sure that it makes sense.”
Within its foreign-language section, Scarecrow has given virtually all countries a unique category section. Chad started with just one film, but that was enough for Scarecrow to grant the African country a placeholder in its shelves. Now it holds three titles: Abouna, Daresalam and Daratt.
Last year, DVDEmpire launched a ‘Find Your Niche’ section on its site to better cater to customers’ preferences. Site management will suggest niches that it believes consumers will enjoy as well as tailor featured genres to current customer demand.
“If we get a new employee who has an interest that’s not covered, they’re more than welcome to start up their own niche page,” said Allan Lee, DVDEmpire data entry manager. “If a niche administrator loses interest in the niche, then they’re free to choose a new one.”
Current ‘Find Your Niche’ sub-categories include ‘Cops,’ ‘Animals and Nature,’ ‘Politics’ and ‘Late-Night Cable Programming.’
“Other online DVD retailers don’t offer a personal experience,” Lee added. “They might sell the Criterion Collection and put all their Criterion titles on sale, but they don’t indicate any personal interest in the product. With our niche pages, we can say to the customer we’re just as big of fans as they are. We don’t want to just sell DVDs to people. We want to turn them on to new things.”
In other retailer narrow-casting, Borders’ site finds differences between categorizing ‘Informational DVDs’ and ‘Instructional DVDs.’ Barnes & Noble appears to be one of the few sites calling out ‘Women’s History.’ Target carries Spanish-language movies as ‘Películas en DVD’ and ‘Películas en VHS.’
