“Although there’s high risk in the retail industry, now is the time for companies to fine-tune their business and take advantage of new opportunities,” said Davis. “The winners will be the disciplined companies investing the time, effort, and resources to re-examine their strategies and position themselves for growth.”
But perhaps the real key is looking beyond storefronts, innovating online rather than finding new ways to attract customers to a storefront they’ve walked by many times. The following are two Web sites doing more for consumers to bring them to their virtual retail storefronts.
PricePlease.com was launched on August 27, and although not entirely a storefront for one business, this online price monitoring service offers Price Drop and Refund Alerts, two tools that help shoppers plan their purchases in advance with e-mail alerts about price changes.
“Our two-pronged approach to price alerts helps save time and money,” said Scott Kluth, founder of PricePlease, Inc. The site monitors more than 150 stores, and when users sign up to monitor a particular product, the alert is valid for up to 30 days. “We take care of all the legwork so shoppers spend less time online searching for the best deal.”
On August 26, MilkorSugar.com launched to become one of the first Web-based customization portals, where visitors can create customized sleeping bags, Samurai swords, bicycles, dresses, drums, shoes, and more. The site also helps customers check pricing, shipping destinations, payment options, and the number of basic models for each vendor on the site, with new vendor reviews published daily.
“We researched [many] Web sites that offer customized physical products,” said Stefan Hoevenaar of MilkorSugar. “In many categories, affordable quality products can now be customized, ordered, and shipped to your home. The range of things that can be customized is widening rapidly. New manufacturers appear almost every day.”
What’s interesting about MilkorSugar’s approach is that in many product categories, multiple vendors are competing as many offer the same customizable products, including bags, shoes, computers, candy, dresses, and books. This creates interest not only in the site itself but also a new competitive landscape in which retailers can compete.
In addition, most can ship worldwide, and the customization available on the site goes beyond superficial design. “This is not just some paint on the outside,” said Hoevenaar. “It’s about assembling or creating your own shapes, about choosing sizes and materials, creating textures and blends. The artisanship of some manufacturers enables their buyer to really become a designer.”
The reality of 10,000 stores closing their doors in the next few months is shocking, but perhaps these two sites best illustrate the five points the CARS group lists to make sure that number doesn’t lead your company down the path of no return:
- Buyers are choosing clicks over bricks
- Private labels are gaining ground over name brands
- Going green is bringing in the green
- A loyal customer is the best customer
- Improving processes lowers costs, boosts satisfaction
