Image Line has announced the launch of the "FL Extension" box, a new "product" that brings more than 75 additional plug-ins and product upgrades from the FL Studio library into retail stores. You can buy an FL Extension box in a retail store and then choose and download your FL Extension product on-line.

Here's what Image Line says: "Consumer research conducted by Image Line showed that 61% of customers buying FL Studio and plug-ins from a retail store were aware that online purchases were available. Reasons cited for buying in a physical shop included not having a credit card and not trusting online shopping. Of the in-store shoppers, 74% said they would buy the FL Extension product if it were available. Interestingly, 54% of download customers also said they would buy the FL Extension product as it was seen as more convenient than using a family/friend's credit card or bank-wire method."

Choose from 75+ products with 1 box: In light of the research, Image Line saw a strong opportunity for the FL Extension product to bring increased sales to Image Line's retail partners and greater choice to in-store customers. The key advantage is that the addition of a single SKU allows retail partners to sell any Image Line product previously only available for purchase on-line.

Image Line offers over 75 downloadable products, including product upgrades. The FL Extension box gives retail partners the opportunity to participate in the Image Line product portfolio and for in-store customers to buy these download products from a trusted retail establishment.

Box graphics: Based on input from retail partners, the box graphics are designed to indicate the product choices and not just a single product in the box. The box reverse-side text explains the details of the system, including how to combine several boxes to get a wider choice of download options.

How it works: Retailing for $99 each, the FL Extension box will contain a code that will unlock a range of downloadable plug-ins, products and upgrade options for registration. After purchasing the FL Extension box, the customer goes online and chooses the product they want to download and unlock. If a customer needs to unlock higher value products, they simply purchase more boxes in-store. For example:

FL Extension Box addition:

• Buy 1 box and choose from: Sakura, Sawer, Toxic Biohazard, Poizone, Gross Beat, any 3 standard sample CDs, Deckadance House Edition, upgrade FL Studio Fruity to Producer Edition, etc.
• Buy 2 boxes and choose from: Maximus, Sytrus, Varazdin Orchestral sounds, upgrade FL Studio Fruity to Signature Edition, Deckadance Club Edition, FL Studio Producer Edition, etc.

Maximizing customer satisfaction: The FL Extension box eliminates buyer's remorse and compatibility issues. Customers can try out any downloadable demo and test the product works on their computer. Importantly, the customer can confirm they are choosing the product that meets their needs and expectations.

When the customer is ready, they can use their FL Extension box to unlock the download from a demo to the fully working version.

To see the products available online visit the Image Line shop - http://shop.image-line.com.

Availability: FL Extensions will be available at all leading FL Studio stockists soon (date TBA).