competition from online retailers

>>1038167
Wow that sucks, OP. What do you sell?

If you're in a market which is prone to impulse buys (e.g. candy) maybe there's a way to entice consumers to buy immediately otherwise if it's more of a considered purchase maybe you could work on really being the friendly, helpful type that answers all their questions and differentiates themselves that way.

Otherwise I don't know what I'd do.

>>1038175
I'm in retail fashion, at the end of the day most sales are people browsing so we put most of our energy into making on the spot sales, but customers are on a spectrum when it comes to impassivity and we're loosing too many off the prudent end

>>1038179
at least my competition is like a swarm of bees, not a bear
it's lots of backyard operators mainly

the problem is they have no knowledge/regard for the law, they often pay no tax, employ bait advertising or other illegal sales tactics
they infringe copy-write like it's a sport

their new style of economy discourages investment and development, in the long run they make it impossible for businesses to be stable and build supply chains; we go back o having bazars

>>1038167
Sounds like you're fucked buddy. Either evolve or die

File: art_of_war.jpg (92KB, 638x479px) Image search: [Google]

92KB, 638x479px

>>1038167
The Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu in the Art of War says,
>Be like water. Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain.

If you can't beat em, join em. Adapt, or else you'll become extinct.

Otherwise, if you cant adapt, if you can't be like water, enforce a "no cellphone, no camera allowed" rule at your store.

>>1038214
if you flow like water you'll just end up in the sea with all the other water

>>1038167
Hire a web developer

Put up a few signs stating that no photography of display is allowed.

Implement (don't advertise) a "price match" system, to where only if the customer can show you a live feed picture, not a screenshot, of the same exact item online for a cheaper price, you'll give it to them for that price. Let customers be aware if they mention seeing it online, but don't encourage them to search for it on their phone in hopes of finding a smaller price tag and an easy finesse.

Hire a web developer or graphic designer to add more appeal to your site and drive up the number of visitors. If your site if already nice, consider just adding newer or more diverse inventory. Try finding things that customers can't really get online as easily.

>>1038258
>>1038251

but some people post photos of my shop to facebook, which is a godsend

and if I match prices I turn over a loss/tiny profit, I'm too small to have an impact on the market

making a nice site is an expensive buisiness, mainaining it is a hastle, protecting it is a nightmare; and you just can't stand out online

I ended up just running a online catalog, no purchase options, no feedback, not even a contact option; it's all it was worth maintaing

>>1038167
It's late and this made me smile.

>>1038167
State (clearly) online that that's you're online price only and that they don't reflect the shop price.

Or just run the discount online shop under a different name

>>1038288
I could, but my issue would be that I couldn't effectively compete online
there is just so much online, so many retailers, so little control over the marketspace

you can shell out cash to google, to advertisers and developers and end up nowhere

>>1038301
Well that sucks brah. I know retailers in my country are feeling the same way (Australia) since our in store prices are insane compared to overseas online ones. Lucky for them though lots of old people don't buy stuff online. Gonna be fucked when they die though. Oh well, thems the costs of globalisation. Grab a ticket and join the queue with the auto workers if you want to complain because retailers are hardly the first to get fucked by this shit.

do stuff like have private parties for good customers where they can go when your store is closed and see new shit before it is displayed and drink wine and shit

>>1038323
part of the problem is a lack of trade protectionism
by allowing businesses that pay their workers fuck all, have no safety standards and no OHS to compete with us on even terms we directly undermine our way of life and support foreign exploitation

at the end of the day letting cheap cars from asia helped us because it allowed us to build stronger ties with asia, auto workers took one for the team

the internet is goint to die, it's already dying
when everything was free and open source it worked great, but now everyone wants to "own" things on line there is no way of protecting private property

the TPP will change everything, there will have to be an official internet police force to enforce copy-write and hacking violations, use will have to be tied to a fixed address, online sales will be taxed, more restrictive laws will need to be added to reduce policing costs

>>1038268

> making a nice site is an expensive buisiness
false
> mainaining it is a hastle
even more false
> protecting it is a nightmare
no
> and you just can't stand out online
if you are shit at SEO then yeah sure


do you know what the basis of a successful product is? GOOD MARKETING.

This is not the result of you losing customers to online competitors. Your business is just garbage for one reason or abother. How can I make such an absurd claim? Look at all the boutique fashion stores that are surviving and doing well. Internet retail has been huge for years anyway, likely much longer than for the time you've owned the store.

>>1038346
He has a store not a product.

>>1038335
Or retailers can just go out of business.

>>1038167

When they come into your store and fuck with your shit, offer to suck their dicks for $20 each. If you can manage at least five dicks per hour you'll be set. What I'm proposing is literally the only thing that can save your 1980s business model.

>>1038212
>Either evolve or die
pretty much this.

you are seeing the landscape change around you. you have even documented this change.
its up to you to figure out the solution.

>you have identified the problem
>solution = ?

>>1038379
>>1038376

>>1038381
This meme isn't funny when it gets shoehorned into literally every thread. Fuck off.

>>1038370
This.

>>1038335
>the factory is going to die, it's already dying
Yeah nah mate that's just not how technology works. We kill old tech when a better thing comes along. You're the old tech in this case sadly.

>>1038383

You need to learn the difference between memes and sound business tactics.

File: d95.jpg (69KB, 720x547px) Image search: [Google]

69KB, 720x547px

>>1038335
>the internet is goint to die, it's already dying
sure
>there will have to be an official internet police force
pic related