Business owners have to use their heads in order to compete in today's world.
As I talk with a business owners of all sizes, and they explain how their hands are tied in moving forward with an internet strategy. They believe they are doing the best they can under the circumstances, of course, but really there are departments in their organization that need to be protected, prices that need to be kept, sacred cows that can’t be touched. “After all,” they argue, “why should I wipe out my current business just to succeed online?”
This dogged thinking is great, unless your competition decides differently.
When you have someone who is willing to accomplish THIS without worrying about THUS and SO, they will likely defeat you. Online, this happens fast, since there are organizations that are willing to grow at the expense of revenue, ethics or reputation. In your short term, being focused may be a real advantage. Sometimes, focusing on accomplishing just one thing (whatever it is) pushes a business through this recession or that far ahead pothole. But at what expense? The competition makes a ton of money and you’ve lost forever.
Retailers, vendors, suppliers, factory branded stores, chains, regional players, local independents, Top 100’s, Mom-n-Pop’s and every other nook and cranny of our industry need to think hard about this before it’s too late
Agreed, Joey.
However the tax situation is an issue regardless of the local retailers decision to sell online.
You are making a good decision.
Selling online is the future whether we like it or not.
The faster you decide to stick you toe in online sales, the quicker you’ll figure it out.
How about the issues of state sales tax? What does the future hold for tax related to online sales and purchases? Are online customers reporting their major furniture purchases? I strongly believe in fair tax on main street and on cyber street. With state deficits I think we will see some needed changes to online sales tax.
If you are a brick and mortar retailer customers are shopping your store and buying online to save sales tax? I don’t like that but that is reality, and I am making a plan to sell online to offset that loss.
It will be very interesting to see where online retailing will take our businesses.
JR