Opening a brick-and-mortar store when your online store is earning bucks

5 years ago

Hello, there are few segments of market that work well as online and few others as offline.Brick and Mortar store is likely to work more as offline store BUT yes you can do wonders with online source in addition.

Yes, that's right! When it comes to construction model or brick and mortar store, normally people buy what they see. But suppose you have a good website with great content mentioning the right way of using and laying bricks, what are the precautions to take, that you material comes from a unit that is 100% free from child labor, various designs, FAQ like what time period it requires to go things stable etc... then you will be recognized more as a brand.
This is going to make people know about your store and would develop trust which would lead to increase in leads and conversions which finally would lead to sale.

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LindyUK

5 years ago

Originally Posted by webcontent

Hello, there are few segments of market that work well as online and few others as offline.Brick and Mortar store is likely to work more as offline store BUT yes you can do wonders with online source in addition.

Yes, that's right! When it comes to construction model or brick and mortar store, normally people buy what they see. But suppose you have a good website with great content mentioning the right way of using and laying bricks, what are the precautions to take, that you material comes from a unit that is 100% free from child labor, various designs, FAQ like what time period it requires to go things stable etc... then you will be recognized more as a brand.
This is going to make people know about your store and would develop trust which would lead to increase in leads and conversions which finally would lead to sale.

Hello webcontent

You misunderstand what Enzo meant, he didn't mean a shop selling bricks.

In the western world, US, UK, CA, AU, NZ and so on, when we say Brick and Mortar store we just mean a shop on a street as opposed to an online shop.

It can be confusing when you are from another country. Like even these Americans can be quite confusing, they can't spell a lot of English words, they spell color for colour and so on. Then they don't know the real meaning of a lot of English words either. An example is pants, they think pants means trousers where pants are actually underclothes.

We can have a giggle at them sometimes. We had an American guest and invited him to a wedding we were going to, He asked if he could just wear a shirt and pants. He couldn't understand us girls all giggling away, but we were thinking about him at the wedding dressed in his shirt and underpants. He would have upstaged the bride!

British women can call their underclothes pants, panties or knickers. I prefer knickers. So there, I have given you two valuable lessons now. lol.

Cheers
Lindy

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webcontent

5 years ago

Originally Posted by LindyUK

Hello webcontent

You misunderstand what Enzo meant, he didn't mean a shop selling bricks.

In the western world, US, UK, CA, AU, NZ and so on, when we say Brick and Mortar store we just mean a shop on a street as opposed to an online shop.

It can be confusing when you are from another country. Like even these Americans can be quite confusing, they can't spell a lot of English words, they spell color for colour and so on. Then they don't know the real meaning of a lot of English words either. An example is pants, they think pants means trousers where pants are actually underclothes.

We can have a giggle at them sometimes. We had an American guest and invited him to a wedding we were going to, He asked if he could just wear a shirt and pants. He couldn't understand us girls all giggling away, but we were thinking about him at the wedding dressed in his shirt and underpants. He would have upstaged the bride!

British women can call their underclothes pants, panties or knickers. I prefer knickers. So there, I have given you two valuable lessons now. lol.

Cheers
Lindy

That's so nice of you and I am wondering this good piece of information can be offered by others too as they must have seen my reply. But who cares! They must be having a good reason to laugh, but you are good enough. This even brings a thought on discrimination and that's why its difficult to bring 2 cultures together. It's nice to have people like you, you made my day! I need to write a new reply them as now my viewpoint is entirely different.

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WF- Enzo

Administrator 5 years ago

Brick and mortar: the physical presence of a business in a building or structure.

I was theorizing of opening a store at a lifestyle district given that I'm running a fictitious profit-laden online store with repeat and new customers all over.

Originally Posted by webcontent

Hello, there are few segments of market that work well as online and few others as offline.Brick and Mortar store is likely to work more as offline store BUT yes you can do wonders with online source in addition.

Yes, that's right! When it comes to construction model or brick and mortar store, normally people buy what they see. But suppose you have a good website with great content mentioning the right way of using and laying bricks, what are the precautions to take, that you material comes from a unit that is 100% free from child labor, various designs, FAQ like what time period it requires to go things stable etc... then you will be recognized more as a brand.
This is going to make people know about your store and would develop trust which would lead to increase in leads and conversions which finally would lead to sale.

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Jeffery

5 years ago

Think Walmart

Think Drug Cartel

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savidge4

5 years ago

Originally Posted by WF- Enzo

Suppose I run an online-only store with people repeat-purchasing whatever I sell, and my website traffic is constant I don't even have to worry about SEO-ing my website. I deem however, that I might be able to attract more loyal and new customers by opening a brick-and-mortar store at a financial/lifestyle district? Will there be less traffic coming to my online store, or will people simply visit my physical store without making any purchase at all? Finally, does it seem redundant running both an online and a physical walk-in store?

Forget what you THINK.. and look at the data you have right in front of you. You are selling online, which means you are shipping the products. Are you shipping locally? What percentage of your business is local? is ANY OF IT local?

No local sales and you MIGHT want to reconsider having to worry about SEO ( locally ). And again allow your sites numbers to dictate a decision to do this.

But really if you look at todays retail environment, I would question the need for a retail outlet. Whats the projected gain? whats the projected cost? There would have to be a possible kick ton of Profit out there before this would even be a consideration for me. I might start with a POP-UP store and see where that went.

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Frank Donovan

5 years ago

Originally Posted by WF- Enzo

Suppose I run an online-only store with people repeat-purchasing whatever I sell, and my website traffic is constant I don't even have to worry about SEO-ing my website. I deem however, that I might be able to attract more loyal and new customers by opening a brick-and-mortar store at a financial/lifestyle district? Will there be less traffic coming to my online store, or will people simply visit my physical store without making any purchase at all? Finally, does it seem redundant running both an online and a physical walk-in store?

Is your online business local, national or global? If it's international, opening one brick-and-mortar store is unlikely to have much of an effect.

Otherwise, it's going to depend on the nature of your business. If what you're selling requires an element of authority - for example, a professional service or something that requires a degree of expertise - having a physical outlet can certainly help with credibility. It can also provide an extra layer of confidence in potential customers if you're dealing in high ticket prices - or if you're a new entry to a market that also has a brick-and-mortar tradition.

The least of your problems, IMO, is the risk of cannibalizing your online business. More of an issue is trying to keep your costs in line. A physical store is much more expensive to operate and is going to have an impact on your overall margins. If your current business is profitable enough to absorb that, then fine. If not, you'll have to decide whether any eventual authority or credibility benefits will be worth it.

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Claude Whitacre

5 years ago

Originally Posted by WF- Enzo

Suppose I run an online-only store with people repeat-purchasing whatever I sell, and my website traffic is constant I don't even have to worry about SEO-ing my website. I deem however, that I might be able to attract more loyal and new customers by opening a brick-and-mortar store at a financial/lifestyle district? Will there be less traffic coming to my online store, or will people simply visit my physical store without making any purchase at all? Finally, does it seem redundant running both an online and a physical walk-in store?

I suppose it depends on what you sell. Are your offers conducive to retail? Are there retail stores thriving that sell what you sell?

As a general trend, retail is dying. At first, it was people shopping at Wal Mart instead of small retailers. Then the country started going online. Malls are closing at a record rate...because the trend is away from brick and mortar stores...and towards online shopping. Now more (for example) clothing purchases are online than in a retail store.

Retail has high overhead and employees..and employee theft.

If you have never owned a successful retail store, don't do it....I mean that your mistakes the first few years will be costly.

Amazon tried opening retail stores....with the same idea you have....it died a quick death. Stick with what you know.

By the way, I own a retail store and have for 25 years. In 5 years, my industry will die, and convert to online sales direct from manufacturer. It ain't pretty. Every year our retail sales go down slightly, and our customers are skewing older. I'll be out in two years. My timing is based on my age, and we'll be at a point where it isn't worth the overhead.

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Jeffery

5 years ago

Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre

I suppose it depends on what you sell. Are your offers conducive to retail? Are there retail stores thriving that sell what you sell?

As a general trend, retail is dying. At first, it was people shopping at WalMart instead of small retailers. Then the country started going online. Malls are closing at a record rate...because the trend is away from brick and mortar stores...and towards online shopping. Now more (for example) clothing purchases are online than in a retail store.

Retail has high overhead and employees..and employee theft.

If you have never owned a successful retail store, don't do it....I mean that your mistakes the first few years will be costly.

Amazon tried opening retail stores....with the same idea you have....it died a quick death. Stick with what you know.

By the way, I own a retail store and have for 25 years. In 5 years, my industry will die, and convert to online sales direct from manufacturer. It ain't pretty. Every year our retail sales go down slightly, and our customers are skewing older. I'll be out in two years. My timing is based on my age, and we'll be at a point where it isn't worth the overhead.

Y e p p e r !

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StevenTylerPjs

5 years ago

If you weren't planning to retire, what direction would you move your career towards? Would you sell the store and start doing something completely different?

I have a friend who just sold his retail store at a discount because he wanted out. It was a small bicycle shop. He's in his 30's and wants to get into rental properties and rehabbing.

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Claude Whitacre

5 years ago

Originally Posted by StevenTylerPjs

If you weren't planning to retire, what direction would you move your career towards? Would you sell the store and start doing something completely different?

I have a friend who just sold his retail store at a discount because he wanted out. It was a small bicycle shop. He's in his 30's and wants to get into rental properties and rehabbing.

Are you talking to me?
I'm going to retire from the store. But I'll still be writing, selling my training...maybe speaking a little.

The only difference between now and then is I won't have a store. But much of what I do will go on.

When it's time to close the store, I'll either sell it for the cost of inventory...or just have a liquidation sale. But I won't lose money.

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jrobconsult

4 years ago

I do liquidation sales for small-medium retailers and hear the stories from the owners how much they made in the good old days. Many try to sell their store with no luck and often their offers are no where close to the cost of the inventory.

It is tough starting a retail business unless you have a lot of experience or a niche that would work well in a store. I expect a lot of retail stores to start closing later this year and next year.

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Claude Whitacre

4 years ago

Originally Posted by jrobconsult

I do liquidation sales for small-medium retailers and hear the stories from the owners how much they made in the good old days. Many try to sell their store with no luck and often their offers are no where close to the cost of the inventory.

It is tough starting a retail business unless you have a lot of experience or a niche that would work well in a store. I expect a lot of retail stores to start closing later this year and next year.

As time goes on, fewer people will buy in retail stores.

And you are right about stores going out of business. I suspect we will all be buying the inventory of the dead stores, until we eventually are the only surviving member of our species. And then we will go extinct.

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WF- Enzo

Administrator 5 years ago

Let's say I'm selling custom-print clothing - t-shirts, polo shirts, hoodies, among others.

I agree too, that retail is dying but in the Philippines people still flock to retail stores to buy clothes. Online stores are merely a convenience.

Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre

I suppose it depends on what you sell. Are your offers conducive to retail? Are there retail stores thriving that sell what you sell?

As a general trend, retail is dying. At first, it was people shopping at Wal Mart instead of small retailers. Then the country started going online. Malls are closing at a record rate...because the trend is away from brick and mortar stores...and towards online shopping. Now more (for example) clothing purchases are online than in a retail store.

Retail has high overhead and employees..and employee theft.

If you have never owned a successful retail store, don't do it....I mean that your mistakes the first few years will be costly.

Amazon tried opening retail stores....with the same idea you have....it died a quick death. Stick with what you know.

By the way, I own a retail store and have for 25 years. In 5 years, my industry will die, and convert to online sales direct from manufacturer. It ain't pretty. Every year our retail sales go down slightly, and our customers are skewing older. I'll be out in two years. My timing is based on my age, and we'll be at a point where it isn't worth the overhead.

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Jeffery

5 years ago

Originally Posted by WF- Enzo

Let's say I'm selling custom-print clothing - t-shirts, polo shirts, hoodies, among others.

I agree too, that retail is dying but in the Philippines people still flock to retail stores to buy clothes. Online stores are merely a convenience.

The malls in the P.I. are awesome and yes "people still flock to retail stores to buy clothes." The malls are full of buyers and the atmosphere is lively in a good way.

In my experience the larger majority of Filipinos are genuinely the nicest and friendliest people I have ever had the pleasure to meet and they are also the most frugal people I know in every sense of smart shoppers with regard to money or food. They seek reasonable quality at reasonable prices.

Combine the most pleasant buyers in Asia with the most pleasant Mall Experience and a seller has The Recipe To Success.

"Mall Concession." Enter print-on-demand high tech custom t-shirts with reasonable quality and prices and the end result is a marketing foundation for both brand and profit. Enter free crab filled d'oeuvres for waiting customers and be prepared for long lines and repeat sales! Photo and YouTube promotional opportunities are priceless.

Oh, I could tell you stories. The trick I found is to have a "City Wide Signature Brand" that goes viral.

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Claude Whitacre

5 years ago

Originally Posted by WF- Enzo

Let's say I'm selling custom-print clothing - t-shirts, polo shirts, hoodies, among others.

I agree too, that retail is dying but in the Philippines people still flock to retail stores to buy clothes. Online stores are merely a convenience.

I'm only familiar with the US trends.

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savidge4

5 years ago

Originally Posted by WF- Enzo

Let's say I'm selling custom-print clothing - t-shirts, polo shirts, hoodies, among others.

I agree too, that retail is dying but in the Philippines people still flock to retail stores to buy clothes. Online stores are merely a convenience.

I think there is data to be shown that indicates those statements to be not so true https://www.statista.com/outlook/243...ce/philippines to start with "Fashion" being the largest segment of online purchases is an indicator that being online is a solid choice.

I would very much work with a Google my Business account and develop your local online presence I would start building relationships with other offline retailers to increase your online product line. I would do what I am assuming YOU do best, and run with it. Play your cards right... and you literally could be the next Alibaba gorilla from Manilla LOL

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Jeffery

5 years ago

Originally Posted by WF- Enzo

Let's say I'm selling custom-print clothing - t-shirts, polo shirts, hoodies, among others.

I agree too, that retail is dying but in the Philippines people still flock to retail stores to buy clothes. Online stores are merely a convenience.

Originally Posted by savidge4

I think there is data to be shown that indicates those statements to be not so true https://www.statista.com/outlook/243...ce/philippines to start with "Fashion" being the largest segment of online purchases is an indicator that being online is a solid choice.

I would very much work with a Google my Business account and develop your local online presence I would start building relationships with other offline retailers to increase your online product line. I would do what I am assuming YOU do best, and run with it. Play your cards right... and you literally could be the next Alibaba gorilla from Manilla LOL

When it comes to the P.I. (Philippines) and those stats we really have to have an understanding of:
The P.I. is a country of islands and the internet is almost non-existent for 'home users' outside the main island, Luzon, the city of Manila, the capital of P.I.

The majority of 'business internet users' outside of Luzon are business entities located on the islands of the P.I. primarily hotels that use the internet to place orders for textiles and amenities sourced out of Manila.
The minority of internet users are residents and tourists that make use of eWallets e.g. PesoPay and 7 Connect. These are popular among residents because merchant fees do not apply.

Here is the rub. The P.I. government has mandated that all online activity is eCommerce! That means students that go online to download assignments to the Airports are all eCommerce and all government agencies and all business entities and all Internet Service Providers must report internet usage as eCommerce.

That also means the data we see online are mis-representative at best compared to the west.

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savidge4

5 years ago

Originally Posted by Jeffery

When it comes to the P.I. (Philippines) and those stats we really have to have an understanding of:
The P.I. is a country of islands and the internet is almost non-existent for 'home users' outside the main island, Luzon, the city of Manila, the capital of P.I.

The majority of 'business internet users' outside of Luzon are business entities located on the islands of the P.I. primarily hotels that use the internet to place orders for textiles and amenities sourced out of Manila.
The minority of internet users are residents and tourists that make use of eWallets e.g. PesoPay and 7 Connect. These are popular among residents because merchant fees do not apply.

Here is the rub. The P.I. government has mandated that all online activity is eCommerce! That means students that go online to download assignments to the Airports are all eCommerce and all government agencies and all business entities and all Internet Service Providers must report internet usage as eCommerce.

That also means the data we see online are mis-representative at best compared to the west.

Im not trying to argue... my 1st wife was actually Filipino, I have been there, and I currently do business there. read here: https://www.statista.com/statistics/...e-philippines/ and looking at every day user penetration of "Usage" and then overlay the other spending demographic, granted it is from the same source, but there are to many similarities here. Forget P.I.for a moment and set these number in place with other countries in the world and they are very much average across the globe.

I personally have access to a far greater set of demographic resources that are subscription based ( so I cant share links here - and I look for in kind data to share when I can ) P.I. is a bit better than an emerging e-Comm marketspace. in part the Govt operated funding system is helping greatly, and YES the Filipinos propensity for shopping doesn't hurt any.

So lets take this discussion oh just a bit further... Filipino pride runs extremely deep. State side nationals given a viable option would buy product from the Philippines if they could - might actually pay a bit more. Develop a market base at home ( the Philippines ) and word would spread faster than a plate of Lumpia disappears across the population here in the States.

Start looking at data like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipino_Americans there are 4 million Filipinos in the States and 104 Million with in the country of the Philippines itself.. so a 4% market share that is to some extent going to by loyal by brand based on Nationality. The 4% are probably damn near 100% Internet Saturated and if you do your research you will see it is a market that is untapped in the ideals I am talking here.

I may be sounding like a record here.. but forget what you think and feel and let the data lead the way... Opening a kiosk may be fine and dandy but the MONEY is in online sales without question.

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myob

4 years ago

Originally Posted by WF- Enzo

Let's say I'm selling custom-print clothing - t-shirts, polo shirts, hoodies, among others.

I agree too, that retail is dying but in the Philippines people still flock to retail stores to buy clothes. Online stores are merely a convenience.

Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre

As time goes on, fewer people will buy in retail stores.

And you are right about stores going out of business. I suspect we will all be buying the inventory of the dead stores, until we eventually are the only surviving member of our species. And then we will go extinct.

There will always be a place for brick-and-mortar stores. In my not so humble opinion, convenience is a powerful marketing strategy. Providing prospects with multiple purchase options is the ultimate in building brand loyalty.

The current crisis may be accelerating inevitable changes in the economic landscape, but companies which can adapt now will be in a position to capitalize on the coming boom. (Although perhaps it may be a year or more down the road)

My own businesses are conducted primarily offline because the online space is increasingly becoming more crowded.

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LindyUK

5 years ago

Originally Posted by WF- Enzo

Suppose I run an online-only store with people repeat-purchasing whatever I sell, and my website traffic is constant I don't even have to worry about SEO-ing my website. I deem however, that I might be able to attract more loyal and new customers by opening a brick-and-mortar store at a financial/lifestyle district? Will there be less traffic coming to my online store, or will people simply visit my physical store without making any purchase at all? Finally, does it seem redundant running both an online and a physical walk-in store?

Hello Enzo

It really does depend on what you are selling. My Daughter Sherri is doing something very similar to what you are describing, so I'll tell you about what she has done.

Her GrandPa got her involved in her first online business when she was 14. He helped her build a website to sell American teen clothing and sportswear, that was drop shipped from the US. Her Headmaster was very impressed with her starting a business and having a website at that age so let her put up posters and flyers throughout the school. She also had them in shop windows in the High Street. By the time she left school she had expanded to 3 more High Schools and had another 2 online Business's.

When she graduated school she started her first online magazine for teen girls. (We use online flip page magazines for affiliate marketing so we can promote multiple affiliate offers to a target market) She found a couple more American clothing companies plus a jewellery company that had affiliate programs, so promoted those with other offers in her magazine. So her magazine was like her website now and she was building subscribers from all over the UK.

Then John, her GrandPa suggested she try importing some clothing from Alibaba manufacturers, and advertise those in her Magazine. He said it would give her a much higher profit margin than the affiliate commissions. She ordered a small selection of summer dress's, 1000 pieces in all, and nearly sold out before her next monthly issue was due out. So now she got serious, put all the money back for more stock but started her own clothing label. If she ordered a minimum of 1000 pieces from each manufacturer they would label the clothing with her own fashion brand. Then came her 2nd magazine, this one aimed towards late teens and 20's, and she expanded her range to cover the tastes of the older girls.

Her 2nd year, she was 20 now, she decided to try her own range of bikini's. She sold more than 6,000 over that summer, then decided to use that money to open her first Boutique in town. She poached one of her x school friends who worked in another Boutique to run it for her. Her Brand, prices and range just killed her competition so it was soon time to expand again. Anna was using some of her profits from our Agency to build a small chain of Hair & Beauty Salons, so they decided to find a larger shop in a small city and combine both Business's into the one location. They could share most of the costs, leasing, electricity, advertising and so on, as well as cross promote to each others clients.

It worked like you wouldn't believe. Now they have a similar store in another small city being fitted out to open 1st of November, and it won't stop there.

Sherri's answer to your concern if an online shop would effect the offline shop is no. The offline shop is catering to the local market where the online shop (in her case being her online magazines) should be catering to a much wider audience, in her case that is the whole of the UK. She is actually encouraging her High Street shop customers to subscribe to her online magazines, as she has a broader range of affiliate products in the magazines that she can sell to them.

Re Claude's comments about retail stores closing down, that is similar over here too, including many large chain stores. But Anna and Sherri take advantage of that by being very different from the norm. Anna did this by combining Hair and Beauty into one Salon, where over here it is usually separate Salons. She is also using many of our online marketing techniques while her competition sit in their Salons hoping a client will phone to make a booking. Sherri took the lead in leasing their new store, it had been vacant for 6 months and the landlord wanted £1,300 a week. Sherri told him he was dreaming, offered him £750 a week on a 4 year lease, then they would pay more. He objected so she told him that she and Anna were going for lunch, if he wanted to ring before they finished lunch they could come back and sign papers. If he didn't ring, they would be going to look at another shop. He rang! lol.

She's only 22, but her GrandPa has taught her well. She already has 7 Business's and 15 employees. As well as her online business's this will be her 5th shop. She set up a computer service shop for her boyfriend where she holds 51% and does the marketing, and she bought a 40% share in an old fashioned lolly shop in town. It was opened before the war so bit old and tattered, never modernized. She's played on that, kept it old fashioned in looks but now spooky old fashioned, with spiderwebs and spiders on the signage and on the ceilings and shelving inside. Plus there will often be the occasional witch in there, handing out treats rather than spells. She has already doubled turnover and has plans to expand that shoppe to other towns too.

Cheers
Lindy

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DWolfe

5 years ago

Originally Posted by WF- Enzo

Suppose I run an online-only store with people repeat-purchasing whatever I sell, and my website traffic is constant I don't even have to worry about SEO-ing my website. I deem however, that I might be able to attract more loyal and new customers by opening a brick-and-mortar store at a financial/lifestyle district?

Here is some other things to consider, what it will it cost to open a store. How much rent are you going to have to pay monthly ? If you buy a property what are the taxes and up keep of the place?
How much does electric, gas, and water cost monthly ? Depending on the business what will the Insurance cost you ? Plus all the misc expenses like new cash registers, shopping carts, stocking the employee's bathroom, etc...

With the online only store, you don't have all those additional expenses. Even if you get a lot of more new or loyal customers can you break even or be profitable ?