When you're shopping for the holidays, do you still go in person? Or, is everything done online? Maybe it's a little bit of both?
We hear it all the time: Storefronts are dying and online companies are the ones putting them out of business, but research shows a combination of the two might be the best way to go for local shops in particular.
Retail Alliance, an advocacy organization made up of local businesses from around Hampton Roads, recently released a study — the "Virginia Retail Matters Report" — that quoted a Salesforce.com study, saying, "a bricks and clicks strategy is estimated to generate 1.5 times sales of businesses only focused on a solely physical business or e-commerce business."
“You’ve got your physical brick-and-mortar store, which is the 'brick,' and then you have your online ability to sell, the e-business, which is the 'click,'" explained Retail Alliance CEO Jenny Crittenden, in an interview with News 3. "It's about meeting the customer where they are."
One local shop owner who's seen just how effective the bricks-and-clicks strategy can be is Derek Shaw, who owns Werther Leather Goods inside Downtown Norfolk's Selden Market. Shaw's storefront opens up to foot traffic moving through the market known for growing startup businesses, but that traffic came to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shaw began posting occasionally to YouTube and social media, but he specifically recalls some advice he received in 2022.
“You need to be on TikTok, and I was like, ‘oh my gosh,'" he said of his less-than-excited reaction.
Shaw, who hand-makes leather products, like belts, wallets and bags, at his store, began posting videos of his work and process to TikTok.
He tells News 3 that viewership grew over time. Some clips reached hundreds of thousands of views and those views translated into sales.
Of the response to one video in particular, Shaw recalls, "that next weekend, it was, like, Memorial Day weekend, I sold ten bags on Friday, nine bags on Saturday and eight bags on Sunday.”
Crittenden says the best combination of in-store vs. e-commerce opportunities will look different for each customer.
“'Hey, I want to shop online, but I want to come pick it up in the store,' or you may have someone who says, 'I saw something in the store, tried it on, loved it, gonna buy it, but I gotta get out of here, can you ship it to my house?'” she told News 3.
Big stores like Kroger and Walmart are using this method too, offering curbside pickup and delivery on just about everything, including groceries.
Studies show local shops and smaller franchises are pivoting their business plans to a blend of brick-and-mortar and e-commerce too. According to the Retail Matters Report, Main Street America expects that trend to continue through at least the first quarter of 2024.
A big example, Crittenden says, is using social selling to attract customers; linking for-sale products to Instagram and Facebook posts so people scrolling can simply click a link to buy.
But the key for small businesses, she insists, is connection.
“They can provide a very unparalleled, a very unique, personalized customer experience," said Crittenden.
To find one of the best examples of providing that experience, News 3 was directed to the Hilltop area of Virginia Beach and a store called Great Outdoor Provisions.
The company recently won Retail Alliance's Retailer of the Year award after moving its business online in just two weeks when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March of 2020. It also partnered with a web company called Locally, which connects people shopping big brands with the local shops selling the product.
"[It allows] customers to connect with our store, put things on hold if they want and then come pick it up in store," said Zach Roberts, store manager of Great Outdoor Provisions' Virginia Beach location, who adds that efforts to reach people online are all designed to bring people physically through the door.
“Online, there’s endless options and there’s endless opinions and that usually doesn’t help anybody make a decision, so if you can come in and talk to somebody and get their perspective...," he said. “...I think that’s what in-store customer service is always going to have to offer people.”
And that's a strategy that Ramir Betts is just now trying after spending years strictly selling his clothing line, Bleubeing, online and out of his car.
“Storefront is always good for that in-person encounter and that experience. Online is also very important because it’s people who aren’t local but also see your merchandise and want to shop and support," said Betts, 27, who now has a storefront in Selden Market across from Shaw and Werther Leather Goods.
It's, as Crittenden said, meeting the customers where they're at.
In the post-pandemic world, there is a strong desire to support locally-owned shops and locally-made products, and with technology where it is today, it's easier to connect than ever before.
