Technology on the march at AAFES

DALLAS – “Televisions are getting thinner, more feature-rich and less expensive. GPS, digital photo frames and Blu-Ray players will be growth categories in 2008 and convergence will be the buzzword for the year.” These are just some of the findings from a team of Army & Air Force Exchange Service managers and buyers who recently returned from the world's largest consumer technology tradeshow, the annual Consumer Electronics Show.

“We will be selecting all of the latest and greatest gadgets to meet military families’ wants in the coming year,” said AAFES’ Electronics Divisional Merchandise Manager Chris Burton. “Military shoppers are generally more ready to embrace the latest the marketplace has to offer. Because of this, our team is dedicated to staying one step ahead of the changes to ensure we are sufficiently meeting military families’ technology expectations. Our aim is to be leading edge.”

As part of this effort, more than 20 personnel, including AAFES Commander Brig. Gen. Keith Thurgood, converged on CES to get the scoop on the newest electronics available and get them to BX/PX stores shelves as soon as possible.

Beyond senior leadership and buyers for AAFES PowerZones, personnel from the Exchange Online Store, at www.aafes.com, and the Exchange catalog program also made the trek to Las Vegas to put their hands, eyes and ears on the very best the electronic category has to offer in 2008.

“With a mobile customer base that includes active duty, retirees as well as Guard and Reserve members, we must find new and innovative ways to take the exchange benefit beyond a military installation’s gate and into the homes of authorized customers,” said AAFES’ Direct Marketing General Merchandise Manager Bill Eddings. “With that said, catalogs and Web sites are not strictly about convenience. All of the merchandise offered has to contain the ‘latest and greatest’ products available in order for the exchange benefit to remain relevant to early adopters of technological innovations.”

So, what’s on the horizon for exchange shoppers? Whether in store, on line or over the catalog’s toll-free number, the AAFES team that visited CES foresees TVs getting thinner this year (1.5”) and even thinner in 2009 (0.75”). There will also be more networking and wireless capabilities throughout the home, office and automobile categories. Additionally, photo frames will deliver MP3 capabilities and wireless technologies as GPS units begin offering voice activation and traffic monitoring services.

AAFES saw consumer electronics grow considerably in 2007 as sales increased more than 9 percent and topped $720 million year to date. The top selling electronic items at AAFES exchanges last year were LCD TVs, iPods and GPS units.