XPLORA WANTS JUNIOR AND SENIOR PRODUCTS COMBINED

At Elkjøp’s Campus Tech training fair, we meet Christina Hovde Olsen, who represents the Xplora and Doro brands for Xplora Technologies. She believes the two product groups should be seen more closely in conjunction with one another.

– It is often the same customers who come into the shop to buy phones for their parents and watches for their children. Here at Campus, we are trying to convey to Elkjøp’s sales staff that the individual customer they meet may be interested in products in both the children’s and youth segment and the senior segment, Hovde Olsen tells the trade magazine Elektronikkbransjen.

She points out that many shop employees are young and therefore do not necessarily know the target groups as well as those for whom the products are developed.

– We therefore want to explain why we design our products the way we do, so that sales staff can better understand the target groups they are actually going to sell to, says Hovde Olsen.

Hands-on training

To give sales staff a better insight into how older people experience technology, Xplora Technologies uses various aids during training, such as somewhat unusual gloves and glasses.

– When they get to try these gloves, they are quite shocked. They experience for themselves how difficult it is to handle a phone with a poor grip. We use the glasses so that they can experience what it is like to have difficulty seeing contrasts, says Hovde Olsen.

The gloves simulate reduced mobility and stiffness in the joints, while the glasses replicate, among other things, cataracts and tunnel vision.

– Many say: «God, is that what it is like to be older?». But they find it valuable to be able to put themselves in the user’s situation. It makes things easier when they return to the shop and meet senior customers, says Hovde Olsen.

Doro’s products are developed with ease of use for older people in mind, from menu structure to colour choices and readability. The range includes both simpler mobile phones and flip phones with physical buttons.

Starter phone

While Doro targets older users, Xplora is developed for children.

– We explain the issue to parents who do not want their children to have a smartphone, but who still want to stay in touch with them. Children should be allowed to be children, says Hovde Olsen.

One of the products is the XploraOne phone.

– This is not a smartphone, but a starter phone, which essentially does the same as the watches. It has neither internet access nor social media, says Hovde Olsen.

She says the watch range is already well known in shops, but that the mobile phone is also being received positively.

– They particularly like the form factor of XploraOne, says Hovde Olsen.

Combined in store

After Xplora and Doro were brought together in the same company, Hovde Olsen believes it may also be natural to bring the concepts together in store.

– Now that the companies have fully merged, it is probably a good idea going forward to present our concepts together in store, she says.

Today, Doro is often placed alongside other mobile phones, while Xplora is typically located in areas for products aimed at children.

– Clearly, young salespeople are interested in cool, fancy technology, and we are addressing segments they do not necessarily know best. That is why we are focusing here at Campus on our core values, to convey the purpose of our presence in the market, says Hovde Olsen.