Attention traditional retailers: The Internet is coming. Correction, it’s already here. You can buy anything you would in a local store \u2013 your store – online. You need to realize that these stores are your competition. All the talk about the advantages they have in not maintaining a showroom and that shipping must be accounted for just won’t wash anymore. We are cross shopping them to you. Frankly, just as they have advantages over you, so do you over them. You have real people that can help us. You have the actual product that we can see and touch. You have the instant gratification factor; with them I must wait for it to arrive. The playing field is not that un-level.
\nI write this because I have made two large purchases recently and been hassled when trying to apply your price match policies to a web based business. Kudos to Lowe’s for matching Internet prices on the 550 sq. ft. (that’s$1,500 worth) of Bruce wood flooring I bought last fall. Shame on them that I had to try 3 different stores before I found a manager that would do it (in violation of your policy, I think.) Shame on Sears on refusing, at 2 stores before I gave up, to price match on the Weider Crossbar Platinum 800 I just bought to the price at Home Shopping Network. You lost a $600 sale, but I still got my home gym.
\nIt’s time to start treating them like competitors, because they are and while you ignore them or whine about how unfair it is, they are taking your customers away.
\nThank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"