Snippet: Verizon and AT&T Have Vastly Different Ideas About Phone Cases ☇

Ashley Carman for The Verge:

Verizon has already overhauled 200 stores with a focus on cases and accessories. In these “Next Gen” stores, as they’re called, customers are able to touch and see cases outside their packaging in displays Verizon has designed to resemble “best-sellers at your local bookstore.”

Why the huge investment? Verizon needs people to buy phone cases because selling the actual phones results in little profit, according to analysts who spoke with The Verge. The company has to diversify its revenue lines, and cases are an easy cash opportunity. “Cases are a part of every phone launch, and [every phone] has to have phone cases, regardless of priority and size,” [Verizon phone case product manager Helena] Elicerio says.

The whole article is a fascinating look at how Verizon and AT&T are handling their case sales and marketing, especially in the face of literally everyone else selling cases. Somehow, the idea of testing accessories for Verizon actually sounds like it might be a really fun job.