How online and offline are merging

Bike dealers, or to put it more formally, stationary specialist retailers, often complain that doing business is becoming increasingly difficult due to online competition. However, there are manufacturers who are trying to combine the advantages offered by each sales channel.

From the coming season, bike and outdoor clothing specialist Vaude will be using a tool that allows end customers to check whether the desired product is available at their local retailer. In August, at the start of the winter season, the new "online-to-store concept" will be introduced throughout Germany. This concept will further expand the Vaude website as a service platform for consumers and specialist retailers. The close link between the website and the stationary area is intended to boost frequency and sales in stationary retail in a targeted manner.

Customers and retailers should benefit
More and more consumers are gathering information online before making a purchase. Due to the increasing use of mobile devices, local search results such as store locations, opening hours and product availability are playing an increasingly important role. If there is a store nearby, many customers prefer a local store to an online store. The new Vaude tool aims to take this purchasing behavior into account. Customers benefit in several ways: they can find out which retailer has the desired product available and do not have to search long for the product or wait for it to be delivered. They also save on shipping costs. In addition to customers, participating retailers also benefit, as potential customers are guided directly from the brand website to the point of sale. For them, the connection to the Commerce Connector is free of charge and technically easy to implement. "We hope to generate added value for our stationary retailers with the new tool," says Jan Lorch, Head of Sales at VAUDE.

This is how it should work: A simple procedure for the customer
To check local product availability, end consumers can go to the product detail page to find out which local retailer has the desired product available in the desired color. Further information such as address, opening hours and telephone number are also displayed. To ensure that the products searched for are actually available in the store, the inventory of participating retailers is updated at least once a day.

www.vaude.com