Transforming touch-and-feel, experiential shopping into an ecommerce business model
Internet shopping grew out of business models and products that were perfect for remote shopping: books, CDs, and electronics. Apparel, although common now, faced hurdles in the beginning as customers were leery about how clothes would fit and look when worn. Some business models and products still seem to be poor fits for this channel of retail, for example some professional services and tailored clothing. However, there are a few new approaches to online selling that seem to be addressing these gaps found in traditional online retailing.
Cycling is serious business. I’ve heard it said that cycling is the new golf. Cycling as a sport is on the rise and can be a very expensive recreation. According to the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA), cycling is a $6 billion business and as a recreational activity has over 64 million participants and is second in popularity only to fitness walking. The NSGA also reports that 38% of cyclists who ride at least six times a year have incomes over $50,000/ year and nearly 50% of these cyclists are between the prime purchasing ages of 18-54. If you’ve stepped into a bicycle shop lately you can appreciate that bicycles and bicycle related equipment is not child’s play – enthusiast level bikes retail at between $1,000 t0 $10,000 with profit margins around 50% (National Bicycle Dealers Association statistics show the average price of a road bicycle at about $1,200 and mountain bikes at about $1,400).
This is a product line with great margins and a strong, growing customer base but it has not been pursued by internet retailers. Some of the reasons include the fact that bicycle purchasing is highly personal. There are personal tastes and personal fit which are usually addressed with the all-important test sitting and test riding. Well, sitting and riding a bicycle via website has proven difficult in my experience. Well, one company is addressing this for the high-end bicycle purchaser. Competitive Cyclist (www.competitivecyclist.com) sells bicycles and cycling equipment through the online channel only. According to their site they different themselves by saying “Even though we operate on-line, we sacrifice none of the personalized service of a local bike shop.” They have developed innovative methods to bring the personalized experience of shopping at a local bicycle shop to the internet shopper. Some unique services Competitive Cyclist offers to their customers that are not common in ecommerce: (liberally paraphrased from www.competitivecyclist.com)
1. “Do you want to test ride a bike before you buy?” They have a dedicated fleet of over 200 demo bikes they will ship via UPS right to your door.
2. “Our Fit Calculator is the most advanced interactive bike fitting system you’ll find on the web.” This is a high tech calculator using a multitude of inputs to help customers find the right size bicycle based on the customer’s personal measurements and statistics.
3. “Would you like to buy a new bike and have it arrive 100% assembled?” Their Ready to Ride shipping program will UPS the bike completely road-ready.
4. “Are you concerned about the regular maintenance and care high-end bikes require?” We offer a full selection of tune-up, rebuild, and retro-fit services. Instead of dropping your bike off, you simply ship it to them.
5. “Do you want to shop with the confidence that comes with touching and feeling merchandise before you buy?” Their CZoom photo technology is very cool and customers can inspect almost every item on the site with exacting detail.
6. Our Kit Calculator is the most advanced custom bike configuration system you’ll find on the web. It's an interactive tool that allows you to compare and compile detailed price and weight information for any of the bikes
All of these innovations of technology and service levels attempt to shift customer perception and provide them a compelling alternative to shopping for high end goods through the convenience of the internet.
Readers: What other examples of innovations supporting non-traditional ecommerce products have you seen?
Comments
Most of the ecommerce products are electronic gadgets because they don't need to be fitted by the customers. All they have to do is read the specifications of the gadget and they can tell if the gadget is right for them or not. That's why gadgets are commonly sold via online.
I would love other non traditional ecommerce products being sold online.
Posted by: osCommerce Templates | March 10, 2009 01:59 AM