In all likelihood, you’ve already acted on or are considering the notion of cyber selling at your store. And why not? In practically every commercial arena in this country and most others, the opportunity to make money in the time it takes for a customer to point and click a mouse is an enthralling prospect, to say the least. To say the most – think computers, phones, cameras, clothing, furniture and automobiles – you’re talking about the potential for a lot of these: $$$$$$.
But will e-commerce work with plants? Or garden accessories? Will you and your staff be hip enough to pull off what looms as a revolutionary new business model that likely will require as much effort as you put into starting the store in the first place?
We put these questions to several retailers recently. As you might expect with any gathering of green industry players, there were some “ayes,” some “nays” and some “maybes.” Mainly, though, there was plenty of food for thought that, hopefully, will help feed your quest to find the answers you need.
High Tech Trek
The Garden Gates in Metairie, La., has one of the industry’s more comprehensive e-commerce components on the company Web site. Indeed, visit www.thegardengates.com, and you’ll quickly be treated to an array of lawn and garden goodies, from tools to outdoor furniture, from chimes to mirrors, from fleur de lis to feng shui.
The decision to add an e-commerce component is the latest “next step” for a garden specialty store constantly on the move. “It came about as a result of our desire to build a better business,” said Garden Gates owner Chad Harris. “We worked for years untiluntil finally getting it right – ‘right’ meaning understanding or delivering the same customer experience whether in-store, online or catalog. You have to be willing to light yourself on fire without jumping into the water.”
Harris said the list of “pros” for starting an e-commerce venture starts with the same yearning that drives every entrepreneur: “The positive part of thinking about your online component is that it makes you a leader in your industry.”
But the venture hasn’t been without its share of “cons,” as well. “It’s way more work than you can imagine, and you need to learn all kinds of new skills – image editing, photography, technical writing,” Harris said. “And it must be done every single day, just like unlocking the front door of your brick and mortar [store].”
Harris’ cyber-selling experience has taught him a lot about the process. Rule No. 1: You can’t virtually go virtual. “You have to make a 100-percent buy-in to the idea – anything less will be viewed as another one of those bad sites,” he said. To that end, he said there are four essential points to address to ensure your site sells:
- Consider using a POS system that simply is point-and-click to add to your Web store.
- Make sure you choose your layout, and pay someone to make it professional. “All those templates out there are a waste of time,” Harris said. “Remember, any dummy with a computer can buy a template and do a really bad job. Think of it as a new piece of equipment – do the research, test drive and determine a realistic amount to invest.”
- Become a social media brainchild. “And if that doesn’t work,” he said, “get your kids to help you. Social media is a wonderful way to venture into the online world fast and cheaply, and it’s easy to update.”
- Consider a POS-Web store that has an app for the iPhone. “People love it, and it’s easy to use,” he said.
“We have built from the ground up ourselves, hired consultants, used template-based formats – everything you can imagine,” Harris said. “In the end, we partnered with Volusion.com and hired a company, BrandLabs, to help us become a high-end Web company.”
Harris believes he and the store really have no choice but to dip a toe into the cyber waters. Before long, he said, online shopping will be the way of the commercial world – if it isn’t already.
“Today if you are not working daily to build your virtual business, wake up,” he said. “The tools that are at your fingertips will be and are the way people buy, communicate and interact with one another each day. The garden center owner that is operating as old – as the same operation he has always operated – is the owner that is wondering why their sales are flat or falling.”
Tried It; Didn't Like It
Not every e-commerce veteran shares Harris’ zeal. For all its virtual bells and whistles, cyber selling has one significant drawback, said Ron Vanderhoff, nursery general manager at Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar, Calif.
“From our perspective, e-commerce removes any ‘value-added’ aspects of a product,” Vanderhoff said. “E-commerce items become commodities once they become a two-dimensional image and price on a monitor. Comparison shopping is only a click away. Meanwhile, Roger’s Gardens’ position in the marketplace is as a source of creativity, new products, new ideas, new inspirations, unique presentations, etc. Roger’s Gardens is a see-touch-smell-and-experience sort of retailer. Once a pot or plant or other item, no matter how amazing, goes onto a ‘shop’ screen, it quickly becomes undressed. It loses the very things that make it so wonderful and exciting when it is experienced in our store.”
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New site gives independent retailers an alternative online marketplace For garden center operators not quite ready or unable to launch their own e-commerce ventures, the industry has seen a variety of independent operations that offer cyber-selling opportunities for garden retailers. The newest on the scene, DoLeaf, was created by a team of gardeners and Web developers who became frustrated with the plant selection and lack of expertise provided by their local big-box garden centers. |
Vanderhoff said his garden center has operated an e-commerce site for the better part of the past decade, so it isn’t as if Roger’s Gardens hasn’t sufficiently tested the market. The store e-sold holiday and collectible items, primarily.
“These sort of items are small, high-value, easily boxed and easily shipped – a perfect online category,” he said. But for reasons mentioned previously, the Roger’s management team has decided to shut its virtual store doors, except for viewing purposes only (you can still see products at www.rogersgardens.com).
In essence, Vanderhoff said, he and his colleagues decided there’s still more value in having customers come in and “kick the tires.”
“At Roger’s Gardens, we can romance the item, merchandise it in an inspirational manner, nestle it among other companion items. Our staff can exalt its virtues, and we can demonstrate its benefits,” he said. “It has life. If we have chosen the proper item, it is very far from a commodity. It’s special. Perhaps most important – we can add value to the item in our retail environment. An e-commerce site can never add value – it can only remove value. We’ll lose at that game.”
Vanderhoff said the move away from cyber selling is definite – but not necessarily permanent. “We’re not out forever; we may even re-launch in a different manner at some point,” he said. “If we were a warehouse or a low-cost model, e-commerce would be a perfect fit, but it is a lot more difficult for a value-added or upscale retailer.”
New and Improved
Obviously, every retailer must adapt to the conditions that favor the store. Watters Garden Center in Prescott, Ariz., recently decided to open a portal on its Web site (www.wattersonline.com) to sell plants and accessories. The new launch actually marks a second foray into the virtual universe for owner Ken Lain and staff. He hopes – and believes – this move online comes at a time when customers are looking for new ways to shop.
“Before the tech bubble burst of the late ’90s we were selling just over $12,000 online,” Lain said. “When the bubble burst so did our online relationships, and this is our attempt to get back into the online game. Our main Web site has huge online traffic because of all the content. We are looking to capitalize on this traffic along with our local presence in the community.”
Lain’s experience with e-commerce has taught him that markets exist; the key is offering products customers are more inclined to shop for online. “I expect this to be our solution to special orders in the brick-and-mortar garden center,” he said. “It will allow us to keep inventory SKUs lower, but still have access to items for immediate delivery from our online store.”
Lain said the decision to re-dip the store’s toes into the cyber-selling pool was partly prompted by a new breed of customers. While this has historically been a “sensual” industry, with Baby Boomers not only content but eager to visit the store to see/feel/experience lawn and garden shopping, spring 2009 wrought something different.
“A much younger customer was in the garden center this spring,” he said. “One that has access to Internet information via phone before they even left the store. This has prompted us to revisit all our Web sites, as well as launch the new online store.”
Lain said the Web shopping option has already served to reach out to this newer customer. “It makes a statement that we are tech savvy, know what we’re talking about and without question are the local authorities in the communities we serve,” he said.
So what is the focus for these folks? “I believe seed, perennials and roses are going to lead the way to more online sales,” Lain said. “Possibly herbs and specialty bulbs can add to the online sales possibilities. We will be launching each of these departments before spring of 2010.”
Lain said that with no significant industry pioneers mapping a course through Cyberland, a new launch can be a combination of science and art. Prayer might not hurt, either.
“We are in brand new territory with no one company in a clear lead,” he said. “The path is muddy and will need direction from the top management/owner, with an eye to make changes quick enough to keep up with the competition.”
And, Lain suggests, it never hurts to follow the KISS rule (Keep It Simple, Stupid).
“My philosophy is, if in doubt, mimic other sites that others are visiting often – eBay, Amazon and the like,” he said. “These long-timer onliners have taught us how to shop online; why recreate the wheel when they have put so much work into their sites?”
Lain said that retailers interested in following his store’s lead need to take one more thing into account: Many of the steps you take in preparing for a virtual launch don’t go forward.
“This is a typical business venture; whatever you think the cost is going to be you should double that number, maybe triple,” he said. “Whatever the launch date, make sure to add three additional months; whatever the return on investment, make sure it’s out there in the 18-24 month range. Online stores are expensive to launch and require a lot of energy from management that can take away from day-to-day management abilities. Make sure you have the money, management and time to dedicate to an online venture.”
Explore the November 2009 Issue
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