- Kevin Natapow
This is a good question and good discussion. Some of it has already started but I will add my 2 cents to the mix. There are some good platforms out there to easily sell your merchandise online but I am a strong advocate for not mixing your online inventory with your brick and mortar inventory and let me explain why… Get ready, here it comes, SURPRISE- inventory control. Ok- lets assume you do inventory control and you set all your min/max numbers 2X’s a year and then you decide to go online. Online can be unpredictable- hugely successful, not much traffic, seasonal, etc. but it will mess with your min/max numbers and you will not have in the shop your optimal inventory if you are also selling online which is a huge disservice to your customers and your bottom line. We never did online sales in part because I did not want the added expense of maintaining the website, fulfilling orders, managing a separate inventory, etc. but we also did not have the luxury of what Global Crafts is offering. I think if you are determined to have an online presence, especially if you are in a high tourist area and want visitors to be able to continue to shop with you when they fall in love with your shop on vacation, consider doing something like what Kevin & Renice offer as you will not have the maintenance issues, etc. But, talk to folks who have done it and find out what their experiences have been. I can see where you would run into the issue of a customer seeing it online and coming in only to find it is a product you do not actually carry in the shop but maybe something could be worked out where you could process the order for them on the spot via your site and have it shipped to them at the same cost. Not helpful if they need it that day but may help convert a few sales.
Bottom line, talk to folks who have done it, check out their platforms, but keep it simple. I have met very few small brick and mortar retailers who do more than 1-2% of their annual sales online and we all know how challenging it is just to run a brick and mortar shop on a day to day basis, why complicate it for an additional 1-2% is my feeling…
- THANK YOU. Jill and yourself have saved my life this week.
- That may be a bit of an exageration? (From Jill)
- Probably not, because when I get overworked and stressed out my kids want to kill me. smile emoticon
- I’m wondering if these %ages are higher in 2015 and certainly moving forward. For the first time ever (nationally reported news) Q4 sales were HIGHER for e-commerce than brick and mortar stores. I realize places Target are in those #s but it has to have an impact on the local stores too.