More stores mix bricks with online
It takes a special buyer to consider spending $3,600 on the shiny red Pinarello that sits among other high-end bicycles - and there's likely fewer of them than you think.
But, one way to help get more sales is to convert the brick-and-mortar store into an online distribution centre.
The question is: How best to blend physical stores and online operations in a world that now demands that retailers do a good job at both.
"You kind of have to figure out what's the combination. It's not one or the other anymore," said Barbara Kahn, director of the Jay H Baker Retailing Centre at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
Retailers such as Wal-Mart offer shoppers the option to order online and pick up in store. Online heavyweight Amazon.com is building new distribution centres so it can cut delivery times to compete with physical stores.
National brands that once sold exclusively online are opening shops so would-be customers can touch and feel their products.
"There's a lot of different ways to make it work," Kahn said.
A company could close underperforming stores but continue selling products at its more successful physical stores. The savings made in lower pay costs could fund extra advertising.
The online option could help the business stock more variety, because some brands require dealers to make a minimum purchase, which might be more than on physical store alone can sell.
The bigger audience online is one reason that some businesses focus almost exclusively on online sales. Or, a company - especially those involved in clothing retail - may seek to expand their in-person sales by hosting occasional "Swap & Shop" events at commercial spaces around town. The get-togethers allow fashion lovers to trade clothes with one another while introducing them to items available for purchase from the business.
In some cases, online sales can be trickier than brick-and-mortar ones, because along with the broader customer base comes a larger pool of competitors.
"There can be people all over the world selling those same products," said retail consultant Britt Beemer, president of America's Research Group. "Everybody always thinks the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. And you get on the other side of the fence, and the grass is dead."
Kahn said as retailers pursue what the industry calls "omnichannel" service, it's unlikely that future shoppers will end up with one way over another.
"There's no way it's going to be a full online world," she said. "There's still going to be a need for offline."
