Military Exchanges Join Forces Virtually at Annual Electronics Expo
Buyers and electronics sales associates from the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, Navy Exchange Service Command, Marine Corps Exchange and the Coast Guard Exchange will huddle up online from Aug. 17-20 to discuss the latest sales trends in electronics and what to expect over the holidays.
The Exchange is taking the lead as the 2020 ME3 Military Exchange Electronics Expo heads into uncharted territory.
Buyers and electronics sales associates from the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, Navy Exchange Service Command, Marine Corps Exchange and the Coast Guard Exchange will huddle up online from Aug. 17-20 to discuss the latest sales trends in electronics and what to expect over the holidays.
Because of COVID-19 concerns, the annual electronics conference will take place virtually.
It’s the second consecutive year that all military exchanges will participate in ME3. This year, the Exchange is organizing it, said Divisional Merchandise Manager Randy McKinley.
“The expo helps reinforce the message that the military exchanges are all in this together and united as one team in serving the best customers in the world,” McKinley said.
Electronics is an annual sales driver for the Exchange, which has seen an increase in electronics sales during the pandemic. This year, the Exchange sold more computers in June than it typically does in November—generally a high-demand month because of holiday shopping.
Unlike last year’s conference, the 2020 ME3 Electronics Expo will be conducted in a virtual setting because of COVID-19 concerns.
The Exchange’s electronics sales through July total $435 million—about $70 million more than this time last year, McKinley said. Top categories are home automation devices (up 210% compared to last year), computer hardware (up 60%) and major appliances (up 25%).
“COVID-19 has really driven large demand increases for electronics more than any other area,” McKinley said. “Everyone is working from home and they need the means to do that, and that means more demand for gaming machines, laptops and tablets.”
Electronics sales totaled $1.6 billion across all service exchanges in 2019—of which the Exchange contributed $880 million. Totals are expected to top $2 billion this year across all service exchanges, McKinley said.
This year’s virtual event, conducted via the via Adobe Connect Webinar platform, will host about 30 vendors, including Samsung, LG, Apple, GoPro Google Nest, HP, Dell, Intel and Whirlpool.
Microsoft and Sony are expected to make the biggest splash at the virtual conference as both companies discuss their next-generation gaming machines. Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X are scheduled to go on sale late this year.
“Everyone is really excited about that,” McKinley said. “Those items should be the single biggest release this fall.”
Between 400 and 500 attendees are registered for the event, which is divided into morning and afternoon sessions. The first session will be from 7 a.m. to 11:35 a.m. Central time for the Eastern Region and Europe.
A second session is scheduled from noon to 4:35 p.m. Central time for Central and Western regions. Live sessions are viewable through the Adobe Connect app. Once the conference has concluded, the sessions and additional training tools will be integrated into LEX via the Exchange portal.
Exchanges in the Pacific region can watch recordings of the presentations from Aug. 18-26, and vendors will participate in a one-hour question-and-answer segment for Pacific representatives from 5-6 p.m. Central time Aug. 17.
“The benefit of a virtual conference is it allows more associates at the store level to attend, so it’s not just general managers,” McKinley said. “Doing it this way allows us to share as much as possible as far as what to expect in the stores for the holidays.”
For more information, visit the ME3 2020 website.
