In stores now: the selfie stick

Two years ago, the hip tech blog “Gizmodo” wrote that selfie sticks – devices that extend a camera into the air and allow a person to take a dramatic self-portrait -- “automatically make the person holding it look like a huge dork.”

Regardless of the product’s cool factor, they have clicked with the mainstream consumer. And they’ve hit the real and virtual shelves of home centers.

At The Home Depot, a cardboard display stocked ShutterStick Bluetooth selfie sticks with a telescopic handle that extends from 12 inches to 39 inches. Menards is also in on the selfie stick movement – including a Polaroid Wireless Selfie Stick.

The selfie stick in the big box symbolizes the blurring of channels in retail, where home improvement, home automation and electronics are merging. For instance: Bluetooth headsets, screen protectors and iPhone cases are also part of the Menards mix in its “cell phone accessories” category.