“Stores are still an absolute”: Retailer Q&A with Outdoor World Direct

Graham Soult

Retail consultant, writer, blogger; helping retailers via CannyInsights.com and CannySites.com. Say hello on Twitter at @soult!

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2 Responses

  1. Will – To answer your question:

    “I notice they didn’t focus on the question, what about the people that use your store to do the research and learn the technical bits, then go away and buy it online cheaper elsewhere!”

    There’s two answers to this really, from a retail point of view, yes it is annoying that people may use our store then go and buy it cheaper online. In fact, when we had a larger camping store and a garden centre display unit, A lot of people used to come along to glean the info they wanted, then purchase online! However, I did notice that when we had those two display operations, our internet sales from local areas did increase. So some of those people were still buying online from us.

    However, we have to look at it from both ends of the equation. We have an online store too, so in fairness, I imagine we have probably gained customers who have viewed the product elsewhere and then decided to buy it on our site because we may of been cheaper on price on that product. The biggest problem with the internet is the transparency. It has led to a totally open marketplace which has driven the margins down. Hope that answers your question anyway.

  2. Will Ryles says:

    I notice they didn’t focus on the question, what about the people that use your store to do the research and learn the technical bits, then go away and buy it online cheaper elsewhere!

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