Whether you like jokes or not, you have to brace for them on April 1st, otherwise know as April Fools’ Day. Never ones to miss out on some timely viral marketing opportunities, tech and retail brands always number among the corporate-to-consumer pranks on this annual holiday of early spring silliness. And given the tumultuous state of the world at the moment, who can fault them?
Gamers usually like a good ribbing, and as PC Gamer reports, the gaming and peripherals manufacturers haven’t disappointed. Riding the metaverse wave, gaming PC and peripherals maker Razer offered of a YouTube peek of the HyperSense Suit, a would-be full-body wearable with a supposed “1,333,337 haptic sensors” to let users feel what’s it’s like to wipe out on the racetrack or give “the emotionally repressed an outlet to become the human you were always meant to be.”
There are also faux CE accessories out there, everything from HyperX’s grass-covered keyboard and mouse to alleviate the need to go outside ever again to the JLab Invisibuds, which live up their name and epitomize the term “vaporware.” (Check out the hilarious product and lifestyle images on Jlab’s site and the YouTube video highlighting these earbuds that are a lot more than totally wireless.) Meanwhile, Adweek’s April Fools’ roundup noted T-Mobile’s fake color rebranding in the form of “New Magenta,” which is literally the same as the wireless carrier’s existing Magenta brand color.
And there’s also just some wry, satirical writing from bonafide publications such as The New Yorker, which features a fictional tech company’s April Fools’ Day announcement of mass crank calls and simultaneous smart doorbell ringing.
But let’s get back to the real world of consumer electronics retailing and its many challenges and opportunities. The increasingly complex and technology-driven omnichannel retail environment requires digital tools that pull it all together and makes it easier for sellers and their employees to manage. Nationwide Marketing Group members now have one more option to tackle these disparate parts of their businesses. The furniture, CE, and appliance buying group today announced that it is partnering with Oracle to offer that company’s NetSuite business management software system to its members.
“Beyond the pricing benefits, NetSuite brings to the table an enormous amount of knowledge and experience in this space,” said Nationwide Director of Point of Sale (POS) Steve Mahler, in a press release. “And their renowned and innovative system is designed to be both simple and flexible for our retailers.”
This week, there were boatloads of new product announcements, and other news of interest this week, too, so be sure to check out our slightly longer list of worthwhile reads and news links below.
WHAT WE’RE READING…
OnePlus 10 Pro 5G Launches in the U.S. and Canada
Dell Technologies Elevates the Hybrid Work Experience
Five Below Looks to Triple Store Count By 2030
The U.S. Economy Added 431,000 Jobs in March
Alexa Will Now Tell You When Items In Your Amazon Cart or Wish List Go on Sale
Amazon Workers in Staten Island Vote to Unionize
A World That’s More Expensive Is Starting to Destroy Demand
LG Commits $150,000 to New Orleans-Based St. Augustine High School
Payments Juggernaut Ayden Wants to Provide Banking to eBay and Etsy Sellers
