Since July last year we’ve been monitoring the way retailers have been selling digital radios. A quick look around the big electrical stores at the SupaCentre in Moore Park over the weekend revealed that not much has improved since our first report on the subject.

Most manufacturers and CRA will wax lyrical about how the take up of digital radios is going really well and way ahead of expectations. While this may be true, with 72,327 sales to Jan 31, 2010, it begs the question; How much more might it be if retailers put near as much pizzaz into their displays of digital radios as they do into, say, TV screens?

The display of digital radios at Harvey Norman was perhaps the least glamorous in the entire store completely upstaged by coffee makers. Even the toaster display trumped digital radio.

Okay, digital radios generally don’t look that great or that different to the old FM/AM combos. But surely they could have found a powerpoint in which to plug PURE’s Sensia. It’s currently the most cutting edge and visually appealing of all the digital radio’s on offer. With its large touch screen and vibrant range of colours it could entice the odd shopper to take a closer look at the table of digital radios on display. Instead it sat dormant like a forgotten rugby ball that failed to clear the cross bar in what might have been the winning goal.

What are your observations on how digital radios are sold? Who are the best and the worst that you’ve come across?

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