E-tail is a plus for retail businesses, but not a necessity.
While 45 percent of retailers responding to a survey by the National Retail Federation said they are selling on the Web this season, many area companies see physical location as the most essential aspect of their businesses.
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“Some people want to touch and feel,” said Rick Isenberg, head of marketing for Ross-Simons Jewelers.
According to Ann Driscoll, Internet marketing director for Ross-Simons, e-commerce is only 10 percent of the company’s business, while walk-ins comprise 20 percent, and their mail-order catalog is 70 percent.
“I’m not looking for it to be 90 percent of my business ever,” said Isenberg about the company’s site at ross-simons.com.
Contemporary gift gallery OOP!, with one location on Thayer Street, one at Providence Place, and one at oopstuff.com has had its online address for about five years. Although owner Jennifer Neuguth will occasionally make a sale online such as a $3,000 bed to a customer in California, she said only about 2 percent of the company’s revenue is from the Web.
“I think anyone in our business who has a Web site has it to draw people to their physical store,” she said.
Neuguth said the Internet is definitely an asset to her business. She is even thinking about adding 50 new items to sell on the site. She said she can understand why companies go under when they put everything into their Internet, and not enough into a physical store.
“I don’t think it’s reasonable to think as the type of retailers we are that you would be making money hand over fist, online,” she said.
Apex, the Pawtucket-based operation, which has three physical stores has made sales across the U.S. and in other countries because of its Web site at apexstores.com.
Vice President of Merchandising Michael Dvorian would not divulge what percentage of his business is conducted online, but he said the Web site has been increasing on a constant basis.
“It’s not so much that we’re relying on the Web,” he said, “but as a retailer it’s important to be in this avenue of business.”
Ross-Simons believes in the Internet as an important facet of business.
Isenberg said the jewelry and gift ware company’s online success, with an increase in online sales of 100 percent over the past year, can be attributed to the company’s strategy of three-tiered marketing.
“You want to be all things to all people and make them feel comfortable,” he said. “The challenge is how you market to each person in the different channels.”
Driscoll said the different tiers in Ross-Simons’ marketing strategy work together.
“We’re using the ability of the Internet to drive people into our brick and mortar stores,” she said, “using each of the channels to support each other.”
The success of a retailer crossing over into e-tail also depends on the size of the product. Dvorian said Apex’s most popular online sales are cookware, small appliances and giftware. Ross-Simons products are hardly ever bigger than a bread box, and OOP!’s most popular product online is their specialty soda.
Riverview Furniture, a Woonsocket-based furniture dealer just went online last
week. The 15-year old, and 14 employee-strong company had been doing sales on
e-Bay prior to going live with their own site at
riverviewfurniture.com.
Owner Richard Triconi said the company has shipped over 500 items, and he likes the system, with one major exception. The shipping.
“As far as the e-Bay business goes, it’s a great business,” he said, ” but there are definitely shipping problems. There is a lot of damage, and a lot of double ships going out.”
Triconi said because of the immense size of the items he sells, the odds are high the products will be damaged before they arrive at the customer’s house. And when the company starts selling online, he thinks they will only concentrate their business in a 75-mile radius. He said one positive element of the e-Bay experience was the exposure.
Triconi said the Internet accounted for about 5 percent of Riverview’s revenue this past year.
Not all other retailers cum e-tailers are completely satisfied with the market online. Neuguth said that books are one of the biggest sellers in OOP!’s two physical locations, but that mammoth sites like Amazon.com have taken away potential online book buyers.
“We cannot sell a book to save our lives,” she said. “We just don’t have the tools.”
