Online UK model shops with live stock levels

[frogger]

I know how the UK retail industry compares to the US industry very well, it's my job. We do business in all segments of the retail industry and consumer goods, product manufacturing, the whole works. If something is true then it's the fact that its not easy. The problem is some think it is, some think it's as simple as putting a catalogue with a paypal system online and suddenly they are up there with other online retailers.

It's not just in hobby shops that people are spending less and less money, it's in all high street retail stores country wide while online spending is increasing in double figures every year and the predictions for 2008 and 2009 are sky high. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that in the near future a bricks and mortar only business will find it hard to compete and survive.

Stores that do online business well can grow from nothing to multi million pound businesses really quickly. Tower hasn't always been a big successful company, they started somewhere as well. Cain at RCModelImports do a very good job of his online store and his online stock levels are usually spot on, so does Andy at RC Direct, maybe it's because they run online only shops that they can focus on it more.

So the sentiment of post is to highlight that it's very tough but necessary for shops to make the effort of treating their online stores with more priority than their instore businesses. Your local instore clientelle is nothing compared to the potential of your online clientelle so if you want to survive and prosper it really is the only way forward.

Don't get me wrong, the idea of a local shop is still very appealing but only if I can go there and pay similar money for something I can get delivered to my door step by tomorrow. A lot of our bricks and mortar customers are still driving customers into their shops with stuff like order online and do in store pickup.

As a consumer I am fickle, I want to find the stuff I want very easily, I want that stuff as cheap as possible and I want it now and if I don't like it then I want my money back. That's the reality businesses are facing and it's those stores that get closest to giving consumers what they want that will become 500+ employee companies that make millions, the rest will always struggle to make ends meet.