I run a brick and mortar dive store in a small town in Alabama. I also operate out of this same store an online store with a fairly good selection and fairly aggressive prices. I would agree that it is a sticky situation when a buyer calls my toll-free number and questions us about wetsuit or bc fit, then states that they intend to go to the local store and investigate sizing and "call us back". In EVERY one of these situations, I always suggest that while at the local store, why don't they make a good deal on the item with the local store and save themselves some time and effort. I would NEVER tell an online customer to size at a local store, then call us for the sale.
That being said, we have dozens of local customers come into our store who are using us simply for sizing and information. Even though we operate an online store with great prices, and offer those great prices to our walk-in customers, many simply prefer purchasing from some particular on-line store. In those cases, we help them anyway with the sizing and information. After all, they may buy from us next time.
Running a small business has lots of ups and downs, lots of "win" and "lose" propositions. The important thing is to keep your eye on the long term strategic goal. You must offer great customers service, have knowledgable employees, have a broad inventory, and offer competitive prices. This is a must for ANY business, not just the dive store industry.
Just as a piece of information.....our store has an inventory in excess of $450,000. This is five, six, or seven times the typical inventory of most local scuba stores. The online side of my business costs MORE TO OPERATE than the brick and mortar store. That's right....MY ONLINE STORE COSTS MORE TO OPERATE THEN MY BRICK AND MORTAR STORE! Those that don't understand that simply don't understand e-commerce. We spend HOURS AND HOURS per week on the telephone giving the same information to our online customers that we typically give to our walk-in customers. These conversations are on our dime...all of our online customers call us toll-free. Many conversations with our online customers last 30, 45 minutes.....often an hour or longer. These are not conversations with minimum wage employees. These are conversations with well paid, full time employees. So remember to temper all of your talk about brick and mortar being so expensive and online being so cheap from an operating perspective. The price difference from local store to onine store is based only on two things.......sales volume and buying clout....not lower operating expense. A local store that can do the sales volume that an online store acheives can easily match the online prices.....in fact, they can BEAT them because they don't have the added cost of the online store!
With all of that said....if you go to your local store ONLY to get sizing on an item you ALREADY intend to purchase from the online store.....call someone else. lol. That's not the online business I want. Remember, I run a local dive store. I have great sympathy for the local store problems. Soon, all of the local stores will change their business model and expand to marketing methods that expand their potential customer base. Thats that problem with the local dive store model....potential customer base. That is why MANY of us local stores have added the on-line option. We are trying to increase our potential customers base, increase our sales, and improve our clout with our suppliers. THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT RESULT IN LOWER PRICES FOR YOU! Oh well, just my opinion. Thanks.
Phil Ellis
Dive Sports Online
www.divesports.com
(800) 601-DIVE