I just got back from a shopping run - all inessentials - and I realized that the vast majority of my buying (and especially not buying) decisions were made based on competitive online prices. I am not an especially affluent guy and need to find bargains wherever I can, and I specifically didn’t buy a book today because I knew that I could get it on amazon for almost half of what the small independent bookstore was charging (to say nothing of Borders, etc.). The same is generally true of almost any luxury (not food, not shelter) product that I buy in a corporeal store.
I understand that the major reason online sellers are so much cheaper is that they don’t have to pay for locations and staff for them, but it seems like brick-and-mortars would do more than what they’re currently doing to compete - considering that they appear to be doing, well, nothing at all at the moment.
What’s up with this? Why aren’t we seeing more competitive prices, discounts, or even “buyer’s clubs” or other incentives? You still have to pay tax on top of the inflated retail price!
Personally I’ve found that in almost every purchase I’ve made the cost of shipping/handling pushes the online price pretty close to what I’m able to find at a brick and mortar store.
I order something on Amazon when I know what I want, and I don’t need it right away.
I buy things brick and mortar when I need or the item immediately. The immediate need means that I’m willing to pay more, means that brick and mortar stores can charge more.
I wondered the same thing after a recent shopping trip for nonessentials took me to WalMart, Best Buy, a local book store, and Barnes & Noble, resulting in zero purchases. Everything was available at Amazon for less, with free shipping. You can even get used books and music online, at prices that beat anything available locally, even taking shipping into account. For those of us in flyover country, it’s the best deal going.
I’m not sure that meatspace retailers can do much more than they already are. Rent and labor costs have got to be a big part of it. Around here, I know that WalMart pays new hire cashiers about a dollar more than minimum wage, I imagine it’s even higher in high cost of living areas. I would suspect that the majority of Americans do not shop online and will not start anytime soon, so traditional stores probably have nothing to fear.
This is exactly how I operate. Brick and mortar is fantastic for immediate purchases. They just fill different needs now.
Besides, I don’t think B&M stores could cut their in-store prices any more if they wanted to. Whatever profit margin they might have been willing to lose on reduced prices likely got lost when a chunk of their customer base left to shop exclusively online.
To be fair, while there are some ways they can compete, they simply can’t compete effectively in many ways.
They can’t compete on price, because they have significantly higher rent and labor costs. They can’t compete on selection, because they have higher inventory costs. They probably can’t compete on exclusivity, although there might be a few products that are only sold B&M.
So, they’re left with competing on service, convenience, availability for comparison, and add-ons. Service is dicey. Most people are more than happy to put up with crappy service for a lower price. They can definitely compete on convenience to the extent that if it’s more convenient for a customer to get to the store and have something immediately than it is to wait for a while and have it shipped to their door (certainly not always the case). They can compete on availability, because it’s easier to judge the quality of something you can physically inspect, although that’s not a silver bullet, because plenty of people will go to a store to select the thing they want to buy, then go order it online. They can compete on additional goods and services, because even the best websites aren’t as good at selling you additional things as a good salesman, or even walking down the aisle and seeing other things, is.
I’m sure if you can think of other ways that they could compete, they’d love to hear it. All of your suggestions amount to “charge less”. That might help them get more customers, but it won’t help them get more money.
To some extent, this is just the impact of technological improvements. It’s kind of like asking why the Post Office doesn’t try to compete better with email, or why stable owners don’t compete better with automobile manufacturers. The answer is that they mostly can’t.
Then you’re not finding the right places online. Many do provide free shipping, others are well within reason (much less than the sales tax) and unfortunately, there are those who suck us in with low prices and then charge ridiculous amounts for “handling and shipping.” I ask them to skip handling, but it does not work.
The most infuriating ones make you go through the entire checkout procedure before listing the shipping cost. May they rot in hell. The good shopping bots list all the prices, include the shipping, highlight the lowest price. Bless 'em!
Still, all-in-all, it is so much easier and quicker to shop online, that is always my first choice. And, in these days, don’t forget the amount you save on gasoline.
I enjoy both kinds of shopping, and each has its advantages. For instance, I can shop at American Scientific and Surplus online, whereas I’d have to order it snailmail otherwise. On the other hand, I really, REALLY like inspecting whatever I’m about to purchase. Online pics and descriptions sometimes aren’t really enough, and occasionally I get burned on quality or size, even if the item is described accurately. For instance, I recently bought a Levenger purse, and the dimensions were listed, but it wasn’t the same as examining the purse. It turned out to be too small and too narrow for my needs, though it’s roomy enough for most people. I just like big purses, and should have gone directly to the business totes section.
Most of the things I shop for are more convenient to get at a real store. I don’t buy much in the way of books and music and DVD’s and games. Anything else…clothes, shoes, …I really want to see and touch. Gifts…unless I’ve seen something I really want and decide to search for it online…I buy where I see it, because I don’t have time to wait. And, being a retail wage-slave myself, I like supporting local jobs. You can get great deals on yarn online…but I’d still have to already know what it looks and feels like in person, because the pictures and colors online are deceiving. And we’ve had many, many customers say they’ve bought a gift online and were very unhappy with the quality once they got it (like catalog shopping). unless you are buying books and music…you have to trust the picture and the description.
My company has an online store, and we view it and use it as an additional tool, for people who may not have OUR catalog in hand. We tell people to browse online, and then order (by phone or in person) with our store…they will get it faster, and with better attention and care to the customized portion. Plenty of people use our online store to order, too, so it works out well for everyone. And our prices are the same online or in the store…
How much are brick-and-mortar stores being hurt by online buying? Maybe (I’m guessing )they aren’t competing with online sites because they don’t need to?
It would seem logical that for every book Amazon sells, the retail Barnes &Noble shop loses a sale. But there are three new Barnes &Nobles that have opened during the past 4-5 years, all within a half hour drive of my house (in different directions, so each store is almost an hour away from its neighbor)
Similarly, all the Walmarts that I remember from 10 years ago are still functioning, and crowded on weekends. Most of the department stores in the malls are also crowded and, I assume, making a profit. And the ones which have failed (like Sears) probably died for reasons that are not connected to internet shopping.
B&M have online stores beat for browsing and hands-on product comparisons. (Yeah, many people do B&M comparisons then turn to online shopping, but that seems rather like cheating, since that’s a shopping method that requires B&M stores to continue thriving.) You can smell the candles, you can try on the clothes, sit on the furniture, look at multiple monitors side-by-side, etc.
Instant gratification. Freshness of product (where that counts-- I don’t mail order cologne, to avoid damage from heat, for example). Returns are a lot easier in person, too.
Best Buy and Wal-Mart have free drop-shipments of most on-line purchases to nearby stores utlizing their existing distribution system, and also allow returns of on-line buys to the store… best of both worlds, and those are features that pure on-line vendors can’t match. Free shipping from online vendors can be nice, but trying to get shipments at home that are too large for my mailbox sucks; it’s nice to have a choice between home delivery or having it held at my nearby big box.
Let’s not forget that for millions of people, shopping is recreation. I’m not a shopper, but I know people who spend almost all their free time at a mall, even if it’s a 100 mile trip. It’s a social activity for them. On-line retailers can’t compete with that.
