Thu, 19/02/2009 - 09:35
What do people think about the battle between online shops and conventional retail outlets? As people move their buying - at least in some fields - online, retailers will struggle. How can those shops compete, or how can traditional retail in general look to differentiate itself in a positive way from online "click and credit card" shops?
I think it all comes down to service.. People will always buy online and people will always buy from bricks n mortar (those with that evil credit card will get stolen theory)
The drama in Australia is the Bricks n Mortar aren't that clever.. Look at any major high street store in the UK (especially white goods, electronics etc) they all have online stores as well..
You can get a better deal online or if you find it online, print it off, take in, they'll give you the same deal..
That's the lacking of some of the major retail stores in Australia.. WOW Sight n Sound finally woke up to this, who wants to browse through a crappy PDF online, so they finally launched a functional online store.. Simplicity in the making - not enough companies here and overseas realise the truw power of their brand offline and online..
It's simple - make it easy to order online and offline - you'll knock the mickey mouse players out of the water eventually..
There will always be the deal hunters, let them hunt, I want convenience, quality, relibality and someone I can speak to in this country either in store or on a phone..
yeah, fair point. Why distinguish between them? As a business you should be trying to provide the best service your customers want. And most want both options.