I ran across this blog post http://bookkeeper.livejournal.com/137577.html needless to say I couldn’t disagree more! I often hear people saying “buy from this local brick and mortar store instead of buying online”. I say, “Why? So I can help prolong the inevitable?”
The Internet is here to stay and so are Internet retailers. Do you think they should be punished just because they have put in the effort to build more efficient sales platform? That’s called competition and many of the brick and mortar stores are very afraid. Instead of helping those who are unable or unwilling to evolve with the retail market, why not support those working hard to give you the best deal?
Does this mean I think there will be an end to brick and mortar stores in the future? No, I use to run a computer store in competition with Internet Retailers, Computer Shopper (which was huge back in the day), and large chains like Best Buy. How did I compete? Certainly not by trying to match prices, I like most other stores relied on providing what the other places couldn’t, mainly service. Additionally I worked with manufactures that were “dealer friendly” and wouldn’t try to undercut you themselves or through large retailers.
As for expenses, it would be great if all we had to pay for was some bandwidth and shipping. Yeah, it’s not quite that simple, the small Internet retailer I work for has just under ten servers, hosting fees, a large warehouse, and twenty employees. Yes we can offer product cheaper than most brick and mortar stores but that’s because the time, effort, and expense of developing websites for over ten years is paying back dividends.
Let’s not forget the consumer; I’m sure they like better prices as well. If they want to come in your store to evaluate product and then buy it online, don’t get mad at the online retailer, figure out how to make money from that customer if they buy from you or not. Figure out what vendors and manufactures are dealer friendly, Figure out how to provide value added services.
Some people even believe Internet retailers are bad for the economy. Answer me this, if someone is more competitive and sells in the US, does that not make the US a stronger economy? I guess we could shun the Internet retailer and buy from the overpriced store down the street until they go out of business and people start buying outside the US.
Bottom line, get onboard and start selling online or figure out how to continue to be profitable offline, just don’t complain and look for pity.