Retailers' Take

State energy officials are looking for ideas and suggestions on how to best implement their rebate programs. AHAM is now starting to hear from major retailers that have been contacted by these state officials.

AHAM has been contacted by Best Buy and Home Depot regarding the program.  Both have stated that they would prefer to see a national program due to the difficulty of having to potentially work with 56 unique programs and the hardship of creating meaningful advertising and marketing programs tailored to each individual market. At this point, most retailers plan to complete preparations on their the busy make or break holiday season (point of sales, marketing information, etc.) and are hesitant to change directions to focus on a new program that would require them to reprogram their campaigns and retrain sales associates. Best Buy believes that the new marketing campaign may have to wait until the next year.

In addition, although many states have been considering the possibility of working with retailers on providing the rebates, Best Buy has stated that they have done away with mail in rebates because consumers don't like them.  There has been no word from Home Depot or other retailers regarding this issue.  However, both the states and the retailers are searching for ways to simplify the program.