Nationwide Marketing Group – parent organization to APRO Member Nationwide RentDirect –brought rent-to-own dealers and vendors together once again in Las Vegas, Nevada, earlier this month for the company’s spring PrimeTime member conference and tradeshow, which featured more than 85 hours of education, roundtables with peers from across North America, and an excellent (as ever!) expo.
Nationwide Director of Appliances and RentDirect John Laing kicked off with a warm welcome, followed by Director of Connected Services Eric Sindelar, who provided an overview of new services available to Nationwide members. New business-to-business offerings include cloud support, energy management, and connectivity, mobility, and security services, among others. Nationwide is even offering members a special Dark Web scan to help prevent hacks and protect against data breaches.
Next, APRO CEO Charles Smitherman shared the latest news from the association. Smitherman asked attendees to answer some questions to help learn more about their current interests and concerns, and talk over ideas and solutions. Artificial intelligence and how it’s being used in rent-to-own was one hot topic; Vice President of Sales and Marketing Mark Williams of SKC Enterprises Inc. dba Rent One shared that his company is experimenting with AI, using it for marketing communications and more.
Laing wrapped up the session with a compelling update about the state of the RTO industry in several key product areas, including good news about the rising consumer confidence index. He also noted that consumer electronics looks like it might increase slightly or may stay flat, while bedding is slightly down.
The RentDirect member meeting was followed by a combined Palooza and Hot Show event especially for rental dealers, presenting some great deals on key products, and plenty of networking opportunities with friendly vendors.
The Nationwide Expo then opened up with the rousing applause of the organization’s team, and even a mirrored stilt walker giving participants a fun welcome. More than 62 vendors populated the exhibit floor, offering tons of incredible products – and including lots of “new” ones, like recordplayers and retro-style refrigerators.
Hosted for over 30 years and more than 60 events, PrimeTime will return to Las Vegas August 11-14, 2024, so be sure to save the dates!
