Argos UK
Aug 5, 2017 06:47:33 #
In the UK we have a chain of stores known as Argos, they sell 1000's of items from a catalogue with well over 1500 pages at budget prices. Here's an example: http://www.argos.co.uk/product/5309579.
Argos stores have very few items on show, it's just a warehouse with a counter. To buy an item you need to get the item number from the catalogue enter this number into a terminal, pay for it with your credit of debit card and your chosen item will appear at the counter in a couple of minutes or less.
It is possible to use cash, simply pick up a small slip enter the item number, go to the sales counter and pay for it, you can also do the same thing on line, go to your nearest store and pick it up. It is also possible to have your item delivered the same day
Is there a similar shopping method in the US ?
Argos stores have very few items on show, it's just a warehouse with a counter. To buy an item you need to get the item number from the catalogue enter this number into a terminal, pay for it with your credit of debit card and your chosen item will appear at the counter in a couple of minutes or less.
It is possible to use cash, simply pick up a small slip enter the item number, go to the sales counter and pay for it, you can also do the same thing on line, go to your nearest store and pick it up. It is also possible to have your item delivered the same day
Is there a similar shopping method in the US ?
Aug 5, 2017 06:49:32 #
johneccles wrote:
In the UK we have a chain of stores known as Argos... (show quote)
Not that I know of, but there could be one somewhere.
Aug 5, 2017 07:05:04 #
We have Amazon.com, but they don't have brick and mortar stores yet. There is some speculation that they might be headed in that direction,They do have some quick delivery schemes, especially if you live near one of their warehouses.
Aug 5, 2017 07:28:37 #
In Canada we had two stores that operated like this. You found your item in the catalogue and filled out the paper slip with pertinent information. You then took the slip to the counter. The order would be noted and soon your item rolled out on the conveyor. You then accepted it and paid for it. This was years ago, before ATMs, bank cards and all the latest payment options. Cash or credit back in the day.
One of the stores was called "Consumers Distributing", the other "Shop Rite". They also disappeared years ago.
One of the stores was called "Consumers Distributing", the other "Shop Rite". They also disappeared years ago.
Aug 5, 2017 07:44:23 #
I remember Argos... Years ago, I was in one of their stores, perusing the catalogue, as one does. They had a complete weight set in there, like for body-building. I almost felt like ordering one, to see this box full of weights come through from the back, and be carried to the counter by one of the kids working there!
Aug 5, 2017 07:46:59 #
That sounds like a nice and effective way of doing business,nice and quick for the consumer.
Aug 5, 2017 07:52:28 #
leftj
Loc: Texas
johneccles wrote:
In the UK we have a chain of stores known as Argos... (show quote)
We did used to have b&m stores like that in the US. Wish I could remember their names. They went away several years ago.
Aug 5, 2017 07:56:12 #
I remember one here in the states called Best Products but they went out of business in 1998 if my memory serves me correctly. Amazon and others like it gave people the same experience from the comfort of their living rooms.
Aug 5, 2017 08:05:22 #
I know Argus. When their store in Belfast opened back in the 70's, droves of people from the Republic of Ireland crossed the border to descend on the store to load up on 'bargains' and things you couldn't get anywhere else.
Service Merchandise was a chain of similar catalogue / showroom stores throughout the U.S. in the 70's and 80's. Their business started to erode in the 80's by the rise of Walmart and the specialist 'big box' stores like Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy etc. They were an early adapter of internet sales but it wasn't enough to save them and they eventually went into bankruptcy in 1999. Service Merchandise resurfaced in 2004 as an on-line only store.
Service Merchandise was a chain of similar catalogue / showroom stores throughout the U.S. in the 70's and 80's. Their business started to erode in the 80's by the rise of Walmart and the specialist 'big box' stores like Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy etc. They were an early adapter of internet sales but it wasn't enough to save them and they eventually went into bankruptcy in 1999. Service Merchandise resurfaced in 2004 as an on-line only store.
Aug 5, 2017 08:30:01 #
leftj
Loc: Texas
repleo wrote:
I know Argus. When their store in Belfast opened b... (show quote)
Yep. That was the one. I couldn't remember the name.
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