With Internet shopping growing rapidly the question is Can a family based cycle shop flourish in in today’s world? Here is a discussion as well as some tips on the matter.
How soon do you need your bike from a cycle shop? – Postage can take a lot of time and if you are in a hurry to get your item, don’t shop online. However, if you go into your Cycle Shop itself and buy an item all you need to do is get there and buy the item.
Product Selection and Availability? – If you’re searching for product availability, try online, you will discover virtually anything online at a good price. Most online stores will surely have a large number of items at amazing prices. In addition to this search for product critiques, user opinions and specifications. Retail cycle shops only stock what they have on the shelf, however you can look at and maybe even test the bike prior to purchasing. With respect to the shop size selection could be limited however availability is for certain.
Base Price – Most online sites offer the better prices than in store, sometimes you can get a price match however this is not certain. Shops sometimes have in shop deals however most items are at RRP. I think you will get the best price online.
Customer Service/Warranty (Returns,Exchanges and Repairs) – This is one of the bad points with online purchasing. Warranty tends to be a poor standard and you cannot just go into your cycle shop and speak to someone about your problem. Customer service can be hard to contact and you may have to wait ages in a “cue”. Security is also a problem as there are thousands of cases of card fraud online. Gaining warranty for your item can be a tedious problem as proving that your item is damaged can be a tedious time consuming process including many calls.
I would suggest buying online if you are after the best deal, however if you after less hassle and good customers services and warranty pop over to your local cycle shop. Along with this you may feel a better sense of community, along with the security that you can walk into this store and complain if you want to.
Here Is a very good model of a Cycle Shop here. They have both online and offline cycle shops.