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How can Brick & Mortar shops compete with Online Shopping?

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  • Registered Users Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    maybe I should have made it clear about rural towns / small towns .. and I think that is what the minister is citing / blaming people for shopping online rather than using local shops to do all their shopping - i'd say places like Dublin and the life are a whole different story to rural areas / small towns of Ireland.

    Well, yes and we out here rely on local shops and big chain supermarkets rather than online shopping. I almost never buy anything online even though I am all but housebound. On my rare outings I buy all needed in person and enjoy it

    NB Minister Ring is my TD and he is on the ball re local situations.

    Out in rural areas there are local/family loyalties also . And most folk are mobile - and fewer have computers.


  • Registered Users Posts: 28,692 ✭✭✭✭Wanderer78


    It's good for the economy........


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,710 ✭✭✭✭Andy From Sligo


    unfortunate name that ... Minister Ring :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,372 ✭✭✭RocketRaccoon


    People buy online because its cheaper, simple as that. Bricks and mortar shops can't compete as they have too many overheads.


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,710 ✭✭✭✭Andy From Sligo


    People buy online because its cheaper, simple as that. Bricks and mortar shops can't compete as they have too many overheads.

    yep that and selection - theres an awful lot more selection to choose from online as well and its most of the time in stock , and items from different suppliers as well.

    particularly in shops in rural Ireland , even some of the bigger stores and chains I have been met with (because most of the time I like to try buying locally if I can)
    "oh sorry , Ive just checked and its out of stock here , they should be in next week.." or some are not even bothered and just say (sternly/unhelpful sometimes)"its not in stock" or "we dont stock it" or "theres not much call for it"

    so then you have to come home, go on laptop and you can find loads of places that have it, and in stock and delivered in a couple of days! - with the advent of place like Parcel Motel its even better now these days because you can even order stuff from the UK that once before not so long ago wouldnt even entertain delivering to the ROI or if they did it was astronomical , something like 25UK pounds per item (hope parcel motel still around after brexit!) but with parcel motel you can get your stuff from amazon. ebay and other online stuff for only 3.99eur delivery ... and there are times where you can order stuff and even with the price of the product, and including postage to Ireland ... it still works out cheaper than sometimes buying/ordering something local or in ireland - I am sorry for the shops and their overheads and their heating and electric and wages rent / rates and insurance but at the end of the day my finances are tight most of the time so I really do have to save money where I can , if that means ordering online to say money and get the same/similar kind of product for less than (sometimes a hell of a lot less) local places then I am simply forced to .. sorry for the economy and having to spend my money out of the area but waht can you do? - if money was no object and the local shops had the items in stock , course me personally I would use them all the time and forget about online ordering , because I am impatient and hate having to wait for things to come through in the post -but most of the times these local shops dont make it easy at all for the shopping customers with their limited opening hours, items not stocked, inflated prices and in effect pushing them onto using online ordering .... and then complain that people are not shopping locally!


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  • Registered Users Posts: 6,260 ✭✭✭alias no.9


    Samsung have a tiered wholesale pricing strategy where the wholesale price of a phone being sold to a bricks and mortar retailer is lower than the price of an identical phone being sold to an online retailer. I believe the bricks and mortar stores get further discounts if they engage in active marketing.

    The online retailer is considered to have lower overheads and if they're making a bigger margin, Samsung wants a cut. They also want to protect the high retail price their phones sell at, one online retailer happy to have a tight margin on a Samsung phone and make their profit through larger volumes could undermine their whole business.

    You're probably going to see more branded products going this way over time.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,184 ✭✭✭riclad


    The manager of a cafe in georges st was interviewed on radio, he said when they were sucessful ,the rent was raised ,by 200 or 300 per cent ,the small profit they made mean they had to close down ,maybe high rents
    mean we only only left with shops like dealz, uk chain stores ,pennys etc
    Many streets in dublin look like any street in the uk .
    Its things like small shops and pubs run by irish people that make dublin different from any uk city.
    Online stores pay less tax and insurance and dont have to pay high rent.
    Maplins and peats closed they cant compete with online shopping.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,702 ✭✭✭Greyfox


    well about 5.45 pm the staff start cashing up, pulling down the shutters , huffing and puffing at the last minute shoppers - saying over the tannoy "this store will close in 15 minutes please make your way to the till" ... so they might 'officially' close at 6pm .. but the staff has had enough at 5.45pm - thats all got to be re-worked as well , it makes the customer feel at unease like they are doing something wrong by coming in at 5.45 even though the shop does not close until 6pm (apparently) - then you get to thinking "well if you dont want my custom I shall take it somewhere else" ....

    The problem here is idiots come into the shop at 5.55 and the staff are forced to work for free till 6.10 which is not fair on the staff. If you feel pressured you should of got to the shop earlier


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,736 ✭✭✭Irish Guitarist


    Most of what I buy online is stuff I'd never find in a shop here. I've boughts loads of CDs in the last few years that I've never have gotten here.

    Twenty or so years ago I used to go to Dublin a couple of times a year just to look in all the big record shops. Now I can just think of some CD that I want and find it minutes or seconds.

    The one shop that I haven't used since starting to shop online is the musical instrument shop. They sell plectrums for about 70 cent each. Instead I can buy a packet on Aliexpress for a couple of euro. And strings are a lot cheaper too especially if you buy them in bulk.

    There's no point in buying clothes because with postage there's usually no savings. Cheap clothes are often labelled as the wrong size too.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,228 ✭✭✭✭bodhrandude


    sugarman wrote: »
    Have you been living under a rock for last 15 years? You can order all the above online and have it in a few hours. While not available here just yet, amazon's pantry can have your groceries delivered in under 2hrs in all UK major cities and 1hr in most US cities.

    Lighten up, was just having the craic. :)

    If you want to get into it, you got to get out of it. (Hawkwind 1982)



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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,655 ✭✭✭draiochtanois


    This post has been deleted.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,787 ✭✭✭Sebastian Dangerfield


    This post has been deleted.

    Perhaps, if it ever gets going to the extent its offered in the UK. I use it quite a bit, but it's not quick.


  • Registered Users Posts: 238 ✭✭horseofstone


    Jimmy. wrote: »
    Welcome to 2002, Jesus wept perharps.

    It makes me wonder ,what the future holds, technology has advanced so much in the last 15 years.self driving electrical cars to come,more automation in industry thus reducing job opportunities for people.where will we be by 2050 ?


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,655 ✭✭✭draiochtanois


    This post has been deleted.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,787 ✭✭✭Sebastian Dangerfield


    This post has been deleted.

    On a personal level I agree with you on the merits of Amazon - I use it every week. But I dont think a 10% saving, along with a week of waiting for the product, potentially with the added cost of a parcel service, necessarily spells the death knell of the Irish retail industry.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,564 ✭✭✭✭whiskeyman


    I don't think 24 hrs is the way forward for bricks n mortar stores.
    People are working longer hours, so will happily cut down on need to travel to a shop if they can order online.

    The biggest factor is price.
    The economies of scale online businesses wield means many shops can't compete.

    They need to reinvent themselves better if price isn't battle. Perhaps way higher customer care, advice, support etc... But many of this only works for larger or more expensive purchases.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,907 ✭✭✭Stephen15


    Most of the unique shops, cafes and restaurants in Dublin City Centre have been replaced by UK/US chain rubbish like Deals/Poundland, Starbucks, Costa, Cafe Nero, TGI Fridays, Boots, Nandos and multiple tacky tourist shops.

    I'd agree but it's not exactly a new trend


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,655 ✭✭✭draiochtanois


    This post has been deleted.


  • Registered Users Posts: 793 ✭✭✭moonage


    Well you can't download a pint of milk, box of teabags or a loaf of bread, you have to go to the shops to get these things.

    Hey grandad, I use a 3D printer to produce milk, bread, bricks, mortar etc.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,787 ✭✭✭Sebastian Dangerfield


    This post has been deleted.

    I understand perfectly well. It takes days if not a week atm. If were including Amazon Pantry, a parcel service is needes as they dont ship to Ireland


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,822 ✭✭✭tabby aspreme


    One advantage with conventional shopping is, you don't part with your money until the goods are in your hand , I bought fancy work boots online last week, money immediately taken from my account, found out yesterday they are not in stock and won't be for another two weeks.


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,710 ✭✭✭✭Andy From Sligo


    Greyfox wrote: »
    The problem here is idiots come into the shop at 5.55 and the staff are forced to work for free till 6.10 which is not fair on the staff. If you feel pressured you should of got to the shop earlier

    ... and there is the 'attitude' right there of some shops .. and if they (or the staff rather) feel that way about customers then (harsh as it sounds) they deserve to close down or not have any customers!

    I used to work in a shop years ago before I came to Ireland ... well it was a building firm and i worked on the electrical trade counter and it had a shop part and although it was written into our contract "hours 8am to 6pm - hour for lunch" there was no problem at the staff in our shop being flexible - if it ever got to the stage but it didnt anyway but if it got to the stage that it was 5 to 6 and we were being rude and ushering the customers out our deparment manager would be right down on us like a ton of bricks ... most probably would get a verbal or written warning for it .

    in my particular case , I wasnt a very good time keeper every morning - a lot of mornings I got in at 10 past 8 .. but a lot of nights I wouldnt leave til the last customer left and cashing up was after we shut the door after 6pm - but hold on I hear you say , our work contract was 8-6pm ... well me and my team in the shop didnt mind being flexible , was bloody grateful for the job and valued customers because they were paying our wages .

    Some shop workers in Ireland have it bloody easy - roll in sometimes late in the morning, sometimes late after lunch, "cant be in today I have to go to a funeral" - "cant come in I am waiting for the electricity guy to call around and ive got to be at home" - "I've got the flu (normally its a cold or just a bad cold)- I have heard this and seen this when i have been shopping in shops in Ireland .. sometimes i wonder how some of these shops are even stayed open when i hear some of the excuses ... and this is us hearing this as well, they say it out on the shop floor for the customers to hear - not taking it to the bosses office or talking in private , some of the excuses I have heard , its a bloody joke

    - oh and wehen you are trying to be served in Dunnes or Tesco or waiting to pay and the member of staff is on the phone talking to their mate "oh ... and then do you know what he said to me then? " - "thats 2euro 40" (no please/thank you kiss my ass) - "Yeah anyway what was I saying?... after 2 in the morning we got back I was out of it man...."


    I dont know what it is ... I have an inkling , in the UK places where I used to work , I think the workers had respect for their bosses and managers - sure you could still have a laugh and that ... but you knew they were the boss and what they said went - but over here in Ireland I sometimes feel the managers and bosses seem to be on the same level and the staff are not scared of their bosses or showing them respect and are all 'pally' with each other - and thats why some times if someone phones up a customer services department and they are getting no-where and ask to speak to a manager that the manager will give the "sorry I will have a word with my collegue and it will not happen again" and then after you put down the manager and the colleugue are having a joke about it - in fact i was in a DIY shop once in ireland and a customer came in and wasnt happy with the shop worker and asked to speak to the manager , and the assistant manager came out and was appologising profusely to the customer and when the customer had left they checked he was definately gone and then they both burst out laughing and the assistant manager said to the bloke on the till "dont worry about that eejit, he is always coming in complaining what an arséhole!" ... and theres me looking for something on the shelves and I could hear all this - think there were others in the shop .

    Anyway yes , some of the staff in these shops are wicked ... you dont get a please or a thankyou or they wont even try and help you out or order something in ... and then when their shop does close down in the end then people will cry out that shops are closing down in the area and that its terrible ...


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,421 ✭✭✭ToddyDoody


    They can compete by selling drugs on the side. Wasn't there something about that recently?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,891 ✭✭✭prinzeugen


    It makes me wonder ,what the future holds, technology has advanced so much in the last 15 years.self driving electrical cars to come,more automation in industry thus reducing job opportunities for people.where will we be by 2050 ?

    We will still be pretty much where we are now. Technology has stalled a bit.

    Self driving vehicles are still decades away from being reliable enough, delivering stuff by drone is unlikely to take off, automaton in industry and millions being put out of work is never going to happen while most of us are alive.

    Even mobile phones are at the limit of what can be done with them. The only improvements you see in new models is a better camera or graphics. Thats it.

    So they have to come up with solutions to problems that don't exist like applepay etc to try and keep you hooked on tech.

    Shops will survive. There will always a need for them as people will always use cash.

    Some idiot in the UK thought it would be great to make the pub he bought in the middle of nowhere 100% cashless. He has had to close countless times or give meals for free as the machines keep failing.


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 17,642 Mod ✭✭✭✭Graham


    Mrs Miggins Fine Fashion Emporium shtuff is all coming back in fashion (for the third time) dontcha know? :) - trouble is they shut at 5.30pm (with an hour for lunch - closed mondays) and thats no good when someone wakes up at 2am and has the urge to buy something from Mrs Miggins Fine Fashion Emporium ... because she is shut! ... you snooze you loose!

    Mrs Miggins isn't stupid though. Unbeknown to you, she's doing a roaring trade in retro-fashion from her online store on Etsy while driving sales from a rapidly growing Instagram following.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,891 ✭✭✭prinzeugen


    riclad wrote: »
    The manager of a cafe in georges st was interviewed on radio, he said when they were sucessful ,the rent was raised ,by 200 or 300 per cent ,the small profit they made mean they had to close down ,maybe high rents
    mean we only only left with shops like dealz, uk chain stores ,pennys etc
    Many streets in dublin look like any street in the uk .
    Its things like small shops and pubs run by irish people that make dublin different from any uk city.
    Online stores pay less tax and insurance and dont have to pay high rent.
    Maplins and peats closed they cant compete with online shopping.

    Most of these small cafes/coffee shops/restaurants are started by people that no nothing about what they are doing. Look at the whole hipster area of Georges St, Wexford St.

    Most of these places close after a few months only to be replaced by another. Property owners would rather have long term tenants like Dealz etc than cafes that are going to go bust after a few weeks or months.

    Maplins could have survived if it had downsized years ago. Smaller shops with fewer staff. They didn't do it and paid the price.


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,508 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Argos and An Post could make a lot of business as pickup points. Argos do it already in the UK for eBay.

    If you are getting a sealed package that is unlikely to need repair or returning, like a book or disc, then it doesn't really matter where you get it.

    Maplin died because they were selling cheap Chinese tat at multiples of the price. If they'd sold quality kit like Radionics or Farnell it might have been different.


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,710 ✭✭✭✭Andy From Sligo


    Graham wrote: »
    Mrs Miggins isn't stupid though. Unbeknown to you, she's doing a roaring trade in retro-fashion from her online store on Etsy while driving sales from a rapidly growing Instagram following.

    the clever bricks and mortar shop owner these days run online retailing alongside their physical shop, harvesting the best of both worlds (my wife works in one that does this and they do it well) .. but not all shops do this


  • Registered Users Posts: 25,420 ✭✭✭✭sligojoek


    I ordered some stuff today on amazon. All told it's costing me 35e delivered . If I was to drive around a small town it would cost me 50e plus petrol. Do the maths.


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  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 19,240 Mod ✭✭✭✭L.Jenkins


    For the likes of Aldi, Lidl, Supervalu, Tesco and Dunnes to become more competitive, I know they offer the ability to shop online in some cases (Tesco delivers your online shop), each retailer could invest more in the ability to shop online and deliver. Would be handy for those living in the arsehole of nowhere or people who simply can't get away from the house for whatever reason.

    Shops and Retailers need to begin investing more in online activities.


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