How to hack a gift store part 2
December 27th, 2009
My previous post on How to hack a gift store: why brick and mortar retailers are f'd generated some interesting feedback that I wanted to address.
The chief piece of feedback was that many brick-and-mortar stores add value to the experience that can't be simulated online. I'll use bookstores as an example since I know them better - if you walk into any independent bookstore in the nation, you can find many benefits over the online experience. You have hand-picked book laid out that aren't just bestsellers or paid placements by publishers, you have employees that are probably better than any algorithm at helping you find a book (or at least they're nicer), and you have a great place to hang out and enjoy a book. It can be argued that if you walk into any town with a happening strip (from downtown Palo Alto to the 3rd street promenade to Union Square in SF), you find stores, bars, and restaurants that make it a special community-filled place. Places that add value to the city where you live, and increase your quality of life.
So if some retailers do add value, will they survive the coming comparison shopping revolution that smart phones are starting?
Even the NY Times picked up on the smart phone trend last week in their Holiday Smart Phones piece. Retailers that don't add value are going to be in trouble quickly.
I think the problem is that when I was in the Disney Hall gift store it wasn't clear if the markup was going to support the Disney, and thus the symphony, or just the gift store. If it had been pitched in a way that made it clear I was helping the Disney, I might have felt differently about making my purchases on Amazon.
The Indie booksellers that still get business are getting it because some people do recognize their added value. But what if they made it explicit? Assuming people will recognize the value on their own may not be enough.
I'm not sure the best way to do this. Experimentation has probably been done, but needs to be done a lot more. It could just be touting the community features everywhere in the store and making it feel more like a place to hang out and less like a store (eg Have you been to Shakespeare and Co?) Or (and this is total brainstorming now) - what if they sold the book at a zero markup and then offered consumers the option to pick a markup from a range of options? Now that I think about it using game dynamics and having loyalty programs would probably be the best option. What if you could get a free book by reading all 10 in a series that the bookstore staff picked? I'd be interested to hear about any experiments people have tried.
It will be interesting to see what happens. I don't think anyone will bemoan the loss of the large generic retailers that don't add value to their communities. I think Amazon is going to continue to crush them. The question is if local retailers can find ways to make their value apparent to their communities. I'm hopeful - but not for all of them.
The chief piece of feedback was that many brick-and-mortar stores add value to the experience that can't be simulated online. I'll use bookstores as an example since I know them better - if you walk into any independent bookstore in the nation, you can find many benefits over the online experience. You have hand-picked book laid out that aren't just bestsellers or paid placements by publishers, you have employees that are probably better than any algorithm at helping you find a book (or at least they're nicer), and you have a great place to hang out and enjoy a book. It can be argued that if you walk into any town with a happening strip (from downtown Palo Alto to the 3rd street promenade to Union Square in SF), you find stores, bars, and restaurants that make it a special community-filled place. Places that add value to the city where you live, and increase your quality of life.
So if some retailers do add value, will they survive the coming comparison shopping revolution that smart phones are starting?
Even the NY Times picked up on the smart phone trend last week in their Holiday Smart Phones piece. Retailers that don't add value are going to be in trouble quickly.
I think the problem is that when I was in the Disney Hall gift store it wasn't clear if the markup was going to support the Disney, and thus the symphony, or just the gift store. If it had been pitched in a way that made it clear I was helping the Disney, I might have felt differently about making my purchases on Amazon.
The Indie booksellers that still get business are getting it because some people do recognize their added value. But what if they made it explicit? Assuming people will recognize the value on their own may not be enough.
I'm not sure the best way to do this. Experimentation has probably been done, but needs to be done a lot more. It could just be touting the community features everywhere in the store and making it feel more like a place to hang out and less like a store (eg Have you been to Shakespeare and Co?) Or (and this is total brainstorming now) - what if they sold the book at a zero markup and then offered consumers the option to pick a markup from a range of options? Now that I think about it using game dynamics and having loyalty programs would probably be the best option. What if you could get a free book by reading all 10 in a series that the bookstore staff picked? I'd be interested to hear about any experiments people have tried.
It will be interesting to see what happens. I don't think anyone will bemoan the loss of the large generic retailers that don't add value to their communities. I think Amazon is going to continue to crush them. The question is if local retailers can find ways to make their value apparent to their communities. I'm hopeful - but not for all of them.
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