Brands which made their names, and fortunes, on the internet are now looking to move from clicks to bricks
While traditional and established brands, such as HMV, Comet and Blockbuster, have been disappearing from our high streets, leaving shops empty and consumers frustrated, we have seen a new trend emerging – online businesses expanding their brands offline.
So in the current economic climate, why would a successful e-tailer decide to have a physical presence as well? There is merit in having a store that customers can actually visit, take part in the shopping experience and most importantly, touch and feel the products. There are also limits to what a website can do, which might seem strange coming from an established online business.
In the case of our own online print business Moo.com we found people at trade shows and conferences love seeing the products, touching them and getting excited about them. This is what led us to make the decision to open our first shop this year. We wanted to create an inspiring environment where people could come and experience our products and physically engage with a brand. Personal branding and beautiful design are important to our customers so we wanted them to be able to touch and feel different paper stocks and see printed samples.
Other online brands are also seeing the value of getting customers into a physical store. Cool accessories brand the Cambridge Satchel Company launched its first store in Covent Garden and Etsy, the e-commerce site specialising in handmade and vintage goods, unveiled its first retail space in December 2012. Even web entrepreneur Brent Hoberman has a physical business presence in the form of a showroom for his online furniture brand made.com, and rumours continue to circulate that pioneering e-tailer Amazon is planning to open a store to sell its Kindle devices.
The question for a successful online business is why take the risk of opening up on the high street after it has been so decimated by, among other things, the rise of online shopping? My advice for anyone considering this is to remember that online and offline can perfectly complement one another – people do still use shops and they serve a purpose.
As an online business your inventory is often low, unlike many traditional retailers who have high fixed costs, lots of inventory and a sprawling retail property empire with multiple stores and lots of added complexity. With a well worked out business model already you can use an offline presence in a hybrid way, paralleling your online efforts and giving customers a three-dimensional experience.
When it comes to choosing premises, approach with caution and start small. At Moo, we chose a small facility at Boxpark in Shoreditch, east London to test it out on a short lease of six months. If it goes well, you can always extend the lease or move to bigger premises. Others have chosen to start by going down the pop-up route, to take advantage of lower retail costs and to maximise sales during busy shopping periods such as Christmas – online auctioneer eBay is just one example of this.
Think about using your store in different ways and look to add value to your customers' experience when they visit. So, for example, at the Moo shop we run regular events for small businesses, creative professionals and freelancers with inspirational speakers and experts on subjects from design to funding. We also stream these and include video on the website for those unable to attend, extending the experience across all of our channels.
For all of the technological developments and the power of online, something we have built our business on, physical stores are a practical way of bridging the touch-feel gap and continuing to excite our customers. This blending of offline and online might just be the perfect combination.
Richard Moross is founder and CEO of the online print business Moo.com
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