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Online Retailing Technology >> Surviving the Amazon Jungle
10/29/2004
When pressed, however, Pepperdine reveals that his etailing goal is simply
“not to lose money.” This, of course, highlights the biggest challenge
of all: Figuring out a way to transform eCommerce from a loss-leader to a legitimate
profit source. At schools like PLU and Duke, bookstore managers have diversified
services enough to keep the effort in the black and grow it steadily. And at
the University of Wyoming, Falgien manages cost benefit another way: While much
of the merchandise in her brick-and-mortar bookstore is eventually marked down,
she has instituted a policy of no sale prices on her etailing site, ensuring
that, at the very least, she breaks even over time.
No matter how a school manages etailing, a sense of reality is paramount, say
the pundits. Even an effort like LuteWorld represents only 20 percent of total
textbook purchases, and most bookstore managers would be delighted if they garnered
as much as 10 percent of those dollars online. As technology improves, these
numbers should increase proportionally, say analysts. In the meantime, it’s
clear to most campus bookstore professionals that the Amazon approach might
not be the smartest route to profit, and that a balanced strategy that incorporates
both etailing and traditional brick-and-mortar is the best bet.
“There will come a day when etailing is everything,” says Falgien. “Until then, finding a way to supplement the physical campus store with targeted online sales is where I think all of us are focused.”
Matt Villano is senior contributing editor of this publication.
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