In a recent Tableware Today article, I implored retailers to 'build their robot.' I encouraged them to invest in technology to automate their processes. I told them how larger retailers like Amazon and Walmart are spending heavily on technology, and that is the best spot to get long-term ROI. Yet, there is another area that indie stores can target to boost profit, and it requires less time and money than spending on technology. 
 

Low Prices > Pretty Website

We've recently discovered that our indie stores are often offering less competitive registry offers than other retailer players. For example, Zola and Amazon offer a 20% post-registry discount. (Please see the news post about this here: https://bridge.myshoplocal.com/news.cfm/25028/Why-Your-Store-Should-Offer-a-Post-Registry-Completion-Discount-) Most of our top 40 retailers don't offer this discount, and if they do, it's only 5%. I believe our indie stores need to meet or exceed these offers by larger registry retailers because that will increase their sales, and it's a quick solution. An indie retailer can, within minutes, match a larger retailer's offer, whereas my team coding a new online service can take weeks or months. And even when we do that, the customer will still choose the larger player with the higher discount/better pricing offer.

In general, throwing programmers at a website is a much more expensive solution than matching pricing and discounts that other retailers offer. 

It's No Surprise Big Tech Offers Big Discounts

Amazon and Zola offer websites with tons of products, but what they also offer is not a technology solution at all. They offer competitive prices and discounts. Saving money is very often a shopper's number one preference. Shoppers and registrants again and again show they love low prices and big discounts over other perks, such as a pretty website.

On top of this, we found that major registry retailers offered other benefits that attracted customers (and surpassed our indie retailers), including attractive return policies and free or affordable shipping. Bloomingdales offers returns up to 12 months, and Amazon for 6 months. 

Proof of the importance of selection and price over technology: Amazon has a famously horrible-looking website—but invests heavily in offering low prices.

To succeed, I believe an indie store needs a nice website, lots of selection, AND low prices, attractive terms, and discounts. They need a "glam slam" offer, as business guru Alex Hormozi would say.

Let's Act

What is my company, Shop Local, doing about this? We have created a new tool for indie retailers to track the major registry retailers' offers. An indie store owner can easily see the registry discounts offered by Zola, Amazon, Macy's, and eight other big retailers. We also show the retailer's return policy.

This new Competitors page will allow a retailer to compare themselves to the major retailers based on these registry terms. The goal is to educate our retailers about competitors and have them voluntarily match the offers. 

Labor of Love
My team will spend 20,000 hours this year on making the best software, but if our indie stores don't have competitive prices and offers, they may undermine their growth—and our labor. Our 20,000 hours will be lost and wasted when indie stores have higher prices, slower shipping, and fewer discounts. Our indie stores need to meet and exceed the big registry retailers' offers in order to stay competitive. 

We Build the Robots, But We're Not in Control
While we build the Shop Local platform, we're not the retailer. We don't control prices or offers and discounts— our retailers control this. We spend time doing the research, providing insights, and making recommendations to help our retailers compete in the industry. For our retailers to succeed, they’ll need to match the prices and offers of their competitors. When they do well, it’s a win for all of us.