2airishuman
Contributor
I think you're way to fixated on price. You're concerned that you can't compete on price. So compete on other factors.
It is important to realize that this is the tail end of a shift in retailing practices that has been ongoing but that really took hold in the 1970s, that first led to the disappearance of small-town clothing retailers, TV and electronics stores, hardware stores, office supply stores, and toy stores. These were undercut first by discount stores, and then by category killers, and now by online storefronts.
Highly specialized retail came next. Music stores, camera shops, bookstores, backpacking places. The low end went to the discount stores, the high end went on line. All that's left are shops that have a large service component (soft water, tires, auto glass, welding supplies, fish and pets) , and shops that are highly regulated (liquor, guns).
So it's possible to consider the lessons that retailers have learned in these other markets.
- You, the local retailer, will lose a customer if the customer feels cheated. If your prices are substantially higher than prices for identical merchandise elsewhere, the customer will feel cheated and will not come back. (What constitutes "substantially higher" is debatable but you sure can't sell something for $189 that is available for $149 elsewhere without ticking people off)
- The retail side will no longer make money by itself and historical markups of 100% or so are no longer sustainable.
- The industry is shrinking and weak retailers will go out of business no matter what they do.
- Local retailers cannot survive without turning up the pressure on their supply chain to get better dealer prices.
- House brands and prestige brands (where online sales and discount retailing are better controlled) are critical to making a buck or two.
Online is the way most people shop (nothing scuba specific in that). Online shopping has been around for what.. 20 years.. maybe 30? Get on the bandwagon or get run over by it.
Most of the dollar volume in retail is still in-person shipping spread across several major concepts:
- Grocery (Cub, Winn-dixie, Kroger, etc)
- Discount department stores (Walmart, Target)
- Home centers (Lowe's, Home Depot, Menards)
Online shopping is really just another form of the nationwide specialty retailing that's been going on for years, it just reduces some of the costs and improves the shopping experience over catalog sales via mail order or phone. The volume is picking up but is not as high is is widely believed.