Running eCommerce with Bricks n Mortar Shop

[Diggerboy]

Hi all,

Guess this has been asked a few times - apologies if it's old ground.

I have just bought a brick n mortar musical instrument shop specialising in guitars, but selling a wide range of instruments and accessories. Some excellent brand suppliers already in place, with others on tap.

No on-line sales at the mo. The shop itself has great margins and sells well, but its prices wouldn't compete with those found on competitors websites.

I want to develop an ecommerce store using the suppliers I have in place, but I know that to compete I'll have to price appropriately - ie. Maintain strong shop prices and sell the same gear on-line at a much lower price.

My main concern is how to run the two together - If the b&m shop is called XYZ, should I run "www.XYZ.com"? How do people do this and get away with conflicting prices?

Or do I set up a separate site with no association with the shop at all? (Still selling same stock)

Thanks in advance for replies.

 

[web design sheffield]

when selling online your domain name (xyz.co.uk) can be anything you want, it doesn't have to be your business name. Quite often I get clients wanting domain names that are businessname.co.uk but a domain name with a keyword can often help with your Google ranking. For example for yourself I would suggest choosing a domain name that includes 1 or 2 keywords e.g. XYZmusic.co.uk or XYZmusicinstruments.co.uk you could even use geolocation e.g. xyzsheffield.co.uk (just make sure the domain isnt too long!)

Regards prices you don't have to be cheaper than your lowest priced competition, if your website is designed correctly and feels 'quality' this can reflect on the product and as such you can charge more for the item. Also if you are above your competition in Google searches the odds of someone looking at your competition after seeing your site can be significantly reduced.

For the eCommerce system try Zencart, its powerful and you can use the stock level system with your B&M store

hope this helps.

 

[kulture]

It really depends on how different the prices are. If the price of one item online, PLUS post is about the same as in the shop then you will not really have a problem. If anyone actually asks then just say that mail order is a different department and you do not set those prices.

If there is a significant price difference then you have to ask yourself why your customers buy in the shop and not online. If it is a good reason, then use that and explain that the price difference is to pay for the shop and the service.

Also consider giving a discount to your better customers.

 

[kulture]

Regarding domain names, whilst web design is absolutely right about seo and key words , it can actually help your b&m business if you actually use your b&m name in the URL.

Do not consider using a different URL just to hide your connection. You have to put your business details on the site anyway. Being a b&m shop will in any case help your Internet sales.

 

[deniser]

I wrote a really long reply but then deleted it as there is no easy answer to this at all. I think you have to stick to one price overall was my conclusion but there are many arguments for and against doing this.

 

[Diggerboy]

Thanks a lot, all. Points taken.

The question is more strategic than seo related, and relates to maximising sales in B&M and online.

We know we can achieve a high price in-store on a lot of items due to catchment area, the preference of many customers to touch and trial products and generally the traditional reasons for shop buying.

On-line prices need to be very dramatically different to compete - not just a little bit, adjusted for P&P etc.

I know linking the site by name to the shop will help some areas of marketing, but it may harm the B&M shop if customers recognise their guitar on our site for, say, 20% less than they paid in our B&M??