Wal-Mart Serves Up Roadside Tech Education

Andrea Wood | June 21, 2006, 10:22 AM

While Wal-Mart certainly isn’t known for selling the most sophisticated CE products on the market, the chain presents CE vendors with a massive distribution channel. The tech road shows the store has planned in cooperation with Intel, Microsoft and a few others combines the power of reputable brands to educate consumers about the options available in standard household technologies. This tour presents Wal-Mart with an opportunity that many vendors would die for: to provide info about their products in a hands-on setting, and to demonstrate a range potential uses in everyday life. Wisely, the road shows will target students and teachers. Teachers decide what is used in the classroom, ultimately influencing what technologies are used, and how. Kids often debrief their families about the latest and greatest, are quick learners and tend to be early adopters. Who better to influence household buying behaviors? While Wal-Mart isn’t the first place many people would look for CE products, most consumers would not overlook the savings presented by the chain. It won’t take long for consumers looking for a PC for their child to use for schoolwork, or basic home theatre set-up, to check Wal-Mart’s pricing when doing price comparisons.