2012-12-19 20:39:47.033847+00 by Dan Lyke 6 comments
New York Times: Once Proudly Web Only, Shopping Sites Hang Out Real Shingles:
Most retail stores have to carry each item in a range of colors and sizes, a significant cost, but Bonobos does not, instead using the Web site as its virtual back room. Customers do not leave the store with merchandise; instead, the employees place an online order that is delivered to the customer, often the next day.
[ related topics: Invention and Design Work, productivity and environment New York ]
comments in descending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2012-12-26 21:49:00.660806+00 by: Dan Lyke
Thanks, Mars, for calling bullshit on the NYT trend reporting.
Meanwhile, this evening I'll be stopping by the place that maintains the physical presence where I drop off my saw blades to be sharpened, and while I'm there will pick up a couple of ceiling light boxes, mostly because I want to consolidate stops and do less physical shopping.
#Comment Re: made: 2012-12-23 22:30:24.880744+00 by: Mars Saxman
What a weird concept. Going to physical stores is a hassle and a huge waste of time - the only reason I bother with it is when I want the whatever-it-was *right now*. A store with no stuff you can take home - why even go?
...okay, never mind, this is just that thing the New York Times does where they report on some weird thing some weirdo is doing and call it the latest trend, because there's always something weird going on somewhere in a city of ten million, and as a news organization the NYT hates to feel like they're behind the curve even though they really have no clue.
#Comment Re: made: 2012-12-21 11:50:21.884162+00 by: DaveP
Yeah. RH maybe is just more aggressive about it than other stores. Their "cash registers" always have a web-browser to the web-site open, and they have a special ordering mode for "this customer wants to pay in cash right now, and does not want to create an account."
Funny thing about it is, when they closed the store that was on my way home from work, I quit shopping with them. The kind of stuff I tended to buy from them (trim hardware - cabinet hinges, drawer knobs, towel racks, that sort of thing) seems to be something I want to go to a store for, and won't buy unless I can see some variant of it in person.
#Comment Re: made: 2012-12-20 22:10:21.844911+00 by: petronius
Perhaps this is where 3-d printers will finally come into their own. You go into the store, see the teacup you like, and they zap one up in the back room. its a bit like buying pants and they have a tailor on the premesis.
#Comment Re: made: 2012-12-20 17:33:33.001097+00 by: Dan Lyke
Hadn't thought of it that way, but now that you point it out the number of times I've been told "you should just order that online" recently points kinda to that... if by "online" the salesperson had meant "their store online".
#Comment Re: made: 2012-12-20 12:10:26.641776+00 by: DaveP
They're finally noticing that now? Restoration Hardware has used the "mail-order catalog with a storefront" for at least five years. In my experience, I've managed to walk out the door with my order one time in four.