Local Buisnesses feel effects
of
internet shopping
By Adam Bailon-
Arrow Staff
At
top, Rocky Moutain outfitter, located in Kalispell, is a business
that has felt the impact of internet shopping. Middle, RMO manager Jandy Cx, discusses buisness with a customer
on the phone. At bottom, RMO sels outdoor gear that could easily be bought
on the internet.
"In
a perfect world, I would rather that the internet not be there,"
said Don Scharfe, owner of Rocky Mountain Outfitter, on how the Internet
has affected business at RMO.
RMO has certainly felt the impact of the internet, but
Scharfe has chosen an alternative way to fight back. He invests in the
community and largely in its students. Scharfe recently helped the FHS
Alpine Club set up a climbing day, and held an avalanche training class
at RMO.
"The Alpine Club had a climbing day a few weeks
ago; I was there and I set up 10-12 ropes and taught some kids how to
climb," said Scharfe about his involvement in the community.
There is no denying that a shopper can get a lot of
things on the net for less than local cost, but not everything. Scharfe
has seen a lot of people come in to buy larger items when they are cheaper
on the net, simply because of shipping and customs charges.
"If you buy a boat on the internet, you are hit
with a lot of freight and customs costs," said Scharfe. "In
some of those cases I don't think Internet sites have been successful."
Internet shopping has been huge and will continue to
grow, but there are some things that customers can only do if they go
down to a local shop.
"There are some obvious advantages coming to RMO.
You can try things on, pick them up and touch them," comments Scharfe
"We try to pick sports that technically have a lot to learn about
them."
As far as the bottom line goes, Scharfe has adapted
because of the internet, and it seems to be paying off.
"The way I do business now, I don't feel that we
need to be an internet store," said Scharfe. "My goal is to
stay small, but I don't want to lose market share. I am being more pro-active,
giving more instructions and doing hands-on things."
Basically, Scharfe is getting RMO involved in the community
he hopes that the community will want to get involved with RMO.
"Internet sites are not putting money into the
community; we are putting a lot of money into the community," stated
Scharfe. "We are a traditional homegrown sort of store. We entertain
people that shop here. We hope that when they leave they felt positive
about their experience."
Paul Menssen, co-owner of Photo Video Plus, has not
seen that much of an impact on business from the internet.
"There is some price competition that maybe wasn't
there before, but the money has been in processing," said Menssen.
"It (the Internet) doesn't seem to be a big deal to us, its sort
of a different market."
Menssen said that they have a web page but get very
little business from it.
"We get occasional business from it," he said.
"One time we sold 10 to 12 slide projectors that ended up in Venezuela."
Menssen also thinks that even though it is possible
to get cheaper camera equipment on the internet or by mail there are some
advantages to coming into the store.
"We will bend over backwards for you," he
said. "If you buy something that is defective, we will trade you
right there, you can't do that over the internet," said Menssen.
Menssen is not alone in feeling little impact from the
internet market. Joann Jensen from Books West doesn't feel that she is
affected much, either.
"I think it balances out," commented Jensen.
"People only want things cheaper, but it adds up and it doesn't end
up cheaper."
There also seems to be some loyalty to her store.
"People call about books they see on Amazon.com
and come in and get them," said Jensen.
Although Jensen doesn't feel too harmed by the internet
she does feel that there are some threats in the business.
"I think we are threatened more by Barnes and Noble
than the Internet."
Jensen also thinks that readers like to come to the
store to be able to look through the books and to touch them.
"It is always nice to touch and browse through
the books," states Jensen.
The Internet is quickly becoming a one-stop shopping
center, and researchers have seen some trends in Internet shopping. One
of the most interesting being that the more one shops on the net, the
more they spend. The Boston Consulting Group has found that consumers
that have completed up to 7 transactions on the Internet spent an average
of $260 while once they reached 15 transactions they spent an average
of $800.
While consumers are generally attracted to the convenience
of Internet shopping, they may be deceived on the facts. According to
the Boston Consulting Group 28 % of Internet purchases fail for reasons
ranging from computer failure to shipping problems.
