Biggest thing killing dive shops?

[MichaelMc]

"Walmart.com" where you order it online and pick it up at the store,

Ah, with free returns in store. No shipping costs. Though you do have to drive there...

The scuba gear I see there is third party drop shipping instead of in store pickup. Rather like amazon.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Ah, with free returns in store. No shipping costs. Though you do have to drive there...

Not a problem because I use their pharmacy anyway

 

[mdb]

Walmart, Dick's etc. Will not carry SCUBA gear, tanks, BC's, regs etc.

The market is too small for them.

Maybe some snorkeling gear.

 

[2airishuman]

I see that Target/Walmart/Dicks would save vs LDS. But how does their local outlet save vs online retail? Maybe they save via pallet sized shipping, but they still have local stocking costs. Will Wallmart/Dicks sell more than LeasurePro? Will that extra volume mean significantly lower stocking costs?

Though several of the online dive shops also stock locally, just not the locally near most of their customers.

It does not seem I gain much from buying dive gear from the generic floor staff at a big box vs online. Though the big box gains from random impulse buys. I have no knowledge of retail.

The big box stores have much lower costs of distribution and labor than places like LeisurePro. I don't know the details of how LeisurePro does business but I would expect that most of the goods they sell arrive via UPS and leave via UPS. The way the big box stores do things there is no UPS. They have regionalized distribution, they get a truckload of, say, wetsuits, at each distribution center, split them up, and send them out to the stores on a truck full of other goods that store needs. With a face to face purchase there's no shipping costs on the outbound side. Result is much lower distribution cost.

The improvements in labor cost come from two places, automation and use of cheaper labor. When you buy a 2XL wetsuit or whatever the need to restock is noted by their software and so one gets pulled at the warehouse and put on the next truck or decisions are made to move inventory from another store. As opposed to an LDS where they are typically not going to catch it until they're putting in a restocking order a few months later and have to go out on the floor and count. The other piece is that all the handling of goods and management of the retail floor is done by people making very low wages, far lower than anyone operating an LDS is willing to live with, and they're busy all the time since the stores are large enough to level their resources effectively.

 

[2airishuman]

Walmart, Dick's etc. Will not carry SCUBA gear, tanks, BC's, regs etc.

The market is too small for them.

Maybe some snorkeling gear.

Not every store, not every market, and maybe not now. They are very good at retail, and the day will come.

 

[BDSC]

Another thing that will possibly hurt dive shops is that some equipment manufacturers now sell directly to consumers. I know ScubaPro does this. I'm assuming they sell for the retail price but at some point I suspect they may offer a better deal then retail.

 

[taimen]

Having lived and worked both in the USA and EU I think that the us sales tax, and especially the possibility to avoid paying it when buying online gives online stores unfair advandage over LDS.
In The EU, one must pay sales tax (value added tax) also when buying online from another country. There are still loopholes, where you can pay VAT to a country with lower taxrate, but they are not as significant as ability to buy tax free online.

 

[Katie L]

It’s all about structuring the business right and identifying/serving the niche. Don’t try to compete with Walmart and Amazon — use effective marketing tactics (even if that is word of mouth), listen to your customers, and offer something the big boxes don’t:

- specialty products!! (large e-tailers only offer a limited product range for many many consumer brands)
- Hard to find or innovative accessories from unknown or new brands
- excellent customer service, such as fitting services, great return policies, discounts on “lightly used” goods, or try-before-you-buy
- an opportunity to compare goods in person
- organized opportunities to use your equipment that serve the needs of the customer base
- Customer education and resources. Unless you’re selling to a customer base who is already highly educated and you’re just a supplier, you must teach them why it’s important to try products in person

Nothing will EVER replace an in-person shopping experience and I think it’s short sighted to assume that everyone wants to buy everything online these days. I don’t, and I’m an ecommerce manager. I love shopping for things in person and walking out with my goods on the spot. Retail is evolving but it’s not disappearing.

 

[muzikbiz22]

They are very good at retail,.

Keep in mind, that statement means almost nothing these days. Dicks is "meh", they are struggling. Walmart has found a sweet spot with both Retail and online. Best Buy seems to be doing ok against being "Amazonified". Home Depot continues to do well. The jury is out on Target, Macy's, Penny's, etc. Sears is all but out of business. Malls are predicted to be half empty in 5 to 10 years. Mercedes is looking at a business model of "selling direct", much like Tesla. it will be interesting in the first quarter of 2018 to see how the big retailers report to Wall Street.

 

[scubadada]

Another thing that will possibly hurt dive shops is that some equipment manufacturers now sell directly to consumers. I know ScubaPro does this. I'm assuming they sell for the retail price but at some point I suspect they may offer a better deal then retail.

I'm quite sure they will at least have periodic sales with lower prices. They were already doing this before they started selling direct to consumer off their website.