WOODLAND PARK, NJ— As andThat! opened, here, a new Cost Plus World Market debuted just next door.
Bed Bath & Beyond is approaching the market with multiple store concepts that have some overlap in terms of merchandise categories. Each has its unique aspects, and Cost Plus combines trending home furnishings with a specialty imported and artisanal food and drink assortment that creates a point of differentiation versus other Bed Bath banners.
Cost Plus traditionally emphasized the worldwide sourcing of products such as coffee, wine and chocolate as it evolved in California and elsewhere in the western U.S., but it has taken into consideration the trend for regional and local specialty products, evolving as a haven for the budget gourmand. Now, given recent expansion, Cost Plus serves good living but price-conscious consumers from coast to coast in the form of freestanding locations and World Market departments in Bed Bath & Beyond stores.
Cost Plus also can be a resource for the budget redecorator, given the furnishings assortment. Available items range from decorative hardware to bathroom accessories to planters to table lamps to sofas, and Cost Plus emphasizes the value it offers in the goods stocked.
Furnishings shoppers in the Woodland Park Cost Plus can peruse a rug gallery presentation and a large lighting department with an array of pendants in addition to lamps. The store staged furniture for the dining room, living room and bedroom in multiple locations across the floor, although an accent chair fixture display below the home décor department sign signaled what has been true of Cost Plus furnishings departments: They emphasize what’s fashionable.
In that vein, the store showcased mid-century modern and rustic-industrial furnishings, a factor that Cost Plus effectively merchandises to mark a distinction between it and competitors.
As for e-commerce, the Cost Plus website, worldmarket.com, covers all the product categories the store does, includes online-only items and allows certain merchandise to be shipped for free store delivery, with in-store signage alerting customers to the service and how to retrieve their online purchases. Signage also encourages consumers to sign up for the Cost Plus loyalty program.
While food and beverage keeps consumers dropping into the store, furnishings represent the other side of the Cost Plus proposition and a big-ticket opportunity that’s driven by regular store traffic for consumable items.
