August 14, 2007

Retailing Online: The Awesome Blend of the 'Net and the Brick

I love drinking Vitamin Water but I hate the fact that my neighborhood Pathmark and CVS stores often don't carry the Energy "flavor" of the drink. CVS does carry it more than Pathmark - but it's a "hit or miss" shopping experience.

I wish is that I could just order 24 or 48 bottles of it online. Why can't I?

One retailer, PeaceWorks, writes the NY Times, solves this problem for its customers.

PeaceWorks sells through retailers and of course does not want to alienate them. So it allows customers to buy online, through its web site at a higher price and in large quantities. It has demand for this offering as some customers can't find what they want in their local store.

This is an ideal example of how online retailers, brick 'n mortar retailers and the web can come together to serve customers and hey - make money.

The NY Times writes PeaceWorks' retail distributors appear satisfied with that approach. Scott Goldshine, general manager of Zabar's, the New York food merchant, said he had warned Mr. Lubetzky when he first heard about the online sales program. "But they have some ridiculous rules people have to follow to buy," he said, "so it isn't a problem for me."

Mr. Goldshine said that occasionally customers told him that they had found one of his products for a lower price online from the manufacturer.

Remember, as a small business you might not have the resources of a larger company but you can leverage your online presence and wield as much power (relatively) as a larger company.

0 comments