Product of the Year 2019: People First Mobility
Product of the Year: inStore Mobility Scooter range from Drive DeVilbiss
Karen Sheppard, Managing Director of People First Mobility
“When I was asked to choose a Product of the Year, it was difficult to make a choice as each Product of the Month that I have chosen was either a good seller or a very popular choice with the customer because of its benefits.
“After looking at all the products and what they bring to the retail shop floor, the Drive DeVilbiss inStore mobility scooter range must be the Product of the Year for us.
“Drive’s goal is to work closer with independent retailers and support us. They are aware that the high street is struggling and have thought of ways to help. After many discussions with retailers, they were told how we are finding it hard to compete with the cheapness of some online-sellers. They also listened to retail stores about people that come to physical stores to look, touch, feel and sit on the product, getting a full demonstration and finding out all the information before going online to buy.
“This practice is increasing so by selling unbranded models, we can name them instore ourselves so when the customer goes online to purchase, they cannot find it. This means they have to come back to the store if they want to purchase the scooter.
“We offer excellent face-to-face personal service but cannot always compete on price, however, we can let customers know that it is an exclusive model for instore only.
“Drive also has other products within the range, supporting small bricks and mortar retailers to demonstrate and sell products in-store.
“The car portable mobility scooter has two styles, one with suspension and led front light, plus an extra charging port on the tiller. It has 20ah batteries, with a 20 stone weight limit, and breaks up easily to go into a car. The second style car portable has 12ah batteries with a 20 stone weight limit. Feedback has been positive and very few problems reported with breakdowns or faults.
“The large 8mph scooter, has 34 ah batteries, a weight limit of 21 stone user weight and is a good budget range 8mph class 3 scooter. It is comfy to ride, is quite a slow 8mph unless turned to maximum but it makes it an ideal starter scooter.
“All the scooters have been good sellers this year mainly due to price and to no direct competition from the online large companies.
“As I mentioned about finding it hard to make a choice out of each month, my second choice for the product of the year would be the new Motion Healthcare Lithilite Pro being very lightweight and having a large range of 26 miles from a lithium battery, easily making it a good choice for the showroom.
“Happy New Year. Hoping 2020 is a brilliant year for you all.”
Discover more Products of the Year as selected by mobility retailers