The " bricks and mortar " retailers are taking a pasting from the online crowd because of issues like the GST - and ever rising council rates, electricity charges. Without these overhead costs it is easy to undercut traditional shop prices.
Desperate times lead to desperate measures. In trying to claw back lost sales one big retail chain adopted an unfair tactic that brought a $ 750,000 fine from a regulatory authority. It's national advertising gave the impression that a discounted item was available in all it's many stores - but the fine print restricted availability to just one obscure outlet - in a remote suburb.
A similar tactic was recently tried by a national liquor retailer. A brand of cask wine was advertised at a cheap price in national newspapers, but once again the small print revealed that the offer only applied to a single store. So far, no official action has been forthcoming.
One of the biggest advantages the bricks and mortar people have is the ability for the customer to see and physically handle the offered item. The big disadvantage of online selling is the necessity of buying off a catalogue. What you see is often not what you get. Being able to feel the fabric of a garment or to work the mechanism of a mechanical item goes a long way to delivering a buying decision.
We are probably well on the way to seeing the bricks and mortar people establishing their own online operations, and using their retail stores as the delivery point for online purchases. Not only does this eliminate individual freight delivery charges - which often make online purchases less attractive - but it inspires confidence that warranty claims will be hassle free.
There is another huge advantage that the bricks and mortar crowd need to embrace. Online shopping can not individually fit items to each customers needs, nor can it physically show and instruct a customer on how to operate a complex item. Some items lend themselves well to unseen purchases, but others do not and the retail shops would be wise to selectively cater to that segment of the market.
Just as supermarkets evolved by convincing shoppers to wheel a trolley around their aisles and pack their own groceries, retailing in the twenty-first century is undergoing change - and the ones who survive will be those who grasp the advantages that both online and retail stores offer - and combine those benefits.
Savvy customers are there to be wooed. It is just a matter of " thinking outside the nine dots " to win the sale !
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