The world of Same-store sale is slowly fading while online sale is
rise. Many retail companies are approaching the internet to make sales.
A customer's shopping experience has a lot to do with why some
consumers prefer shopping online.
Retail channel is shifting to online. Stores have become unpleasant to
shop, no matter what senior management believes about the experience.
Consumers want a shopping experience that is quick and efficient, that
they are in control of and that they can conduct on their terms. They
don't want to have to track down a clerk and explain what they're
looking for, knowing all along that the answer in most cases will be
that it's out of stock.
My experience only confirmed why I do not shop in stores. The floor in
the footwear department was littered with inserts from shoeboxes, as if
the customers or the clerk had simply thrown the inserts on the floor
and no one could be bothered to pick them up. Other merchandise was
displayed haphazardly. Shirts and sweaters had been dropped on displays
with no attempt to fold them or present them neatly, apparel was on the
floor and the store had a general feeling that no one- not the
salespeople, not management-cared about the customers' experience.
Already, anecdotal evidence is piling up that consumers have made that
decision. Same-store sales in plenty of chains are flat or down while
online sales grow. A few recent examples: Gap Inc.’s second quarter,
same store sales were down 5% from a year earlier while web sales were
up 26%; Kohl’s Corp.’s Q2 same store sales were up 1.3% while web sales
were up 60%; Staples Inc.’s same store sale were down2% while web sales
were up 18%. And even at Williams-Sonoma Inc., which has great stores,
same store sales were up 1.2% while web sales were up 11%.
Kurt Peters
Editor-in-Chief
Internet Retailer
