Shopping Centers Today -> August 2003
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E-TAIL E-ROSION
The growth of Internet retail in the next three years will shrink
shopping center sales and erode their value by $10 a square foot,
according to a report by CB Richard Ellis Investors. U.S. shoppers
bought $43 billion worth of merchandise over the Internet last year,
up 26 percent from the previous year, the report said. That accounted
for 1.3 percent of total retail sales, excluding food service. Assuming
that Web sales will increase by $10 billion a year through 2007,
in three years these shoppers will account for 2.3 percent of total
sales, says the firm, which is the investment management arm of
CB Richard Ellis. E-tailers enjoy an unfair advantage over physical
stores, because they are not required to collect state and local
sales taxes on the items they sell, say proponents of ICSC-backed
federal legislation designed to address the issue.
COMPETITOR AS CUSTOMER
Amazon.com continues to look more like a technology and services provider
than a retailer. In June the company launched a subsidiary dedicated
to helping other retailers design and operate Web sites. Amazon, which
was founded eight years ago as an on-line book retailer, already operates
the Web sites of a number of retailers, including Office Depot, Target
and Toys ‘R’ Us. Approximately 20 percent of the company’s
sales come from these partners, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said recently,
as reported in
The New York Times.
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LA GRAN OPORTUNIDAD
The number of Hispanic Internet users in the United States,
12.4 million, outstrips the total population of Spain (11.1
million) and of Mexico (7.2 million), says a report by ComScore
Networks, which tracks consumer behavior. Of these shoppers,
27 percent opt to speak Spanish, the report says. Some online
retailers, including Office Depot and motor vehicle seller Autobytel,
have set up Spanish-language sites in response.
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MULTICHANNEL BANDITS
Tennessee police recently unraveled a novel form of multichannel
retail convergence, reports the Memphis-based
Commercial Appeal
newspaper. In the early hours of April 24, reports came in of gunshots
at a center in Germantown, some of which damaged a Kroger store
window. While police were at the scene, thieves at another center
backed a Buick into the front window of an Apple store and then
drove off with computer equipment worth more than $30,000. Police
officials say that the gunshots may have been a diversion. A few
weeks later, a Hawaii resident inquired at Apple about the warranty
of a computer she had bought on eBay — one, it turns out, that
had been stolen in the raid. Police traced the eBay transaction
and arrested two suspects. At press time they were still looking
for a third.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
While keeping prices low is the best way to get repeat customers,
an easy-to-navigate Web site is also important, says a Jupiter Research
study. The survey reveals that 29 percent of online shoppers are
inclined to be loyal to particular merchants if they find their
sites easy to use, even when they’re not the cheapest. Jupiter
Research is a division of technology consulting firm Jupitermedia
Corp.
MAKING IT HARD
For those who can’t quite make it to the hospital to visit
that sick relative or new mother, Harris Methodist Fort Worth (Texas)
Hospital Gift Shop has the answer: an Internet site — of sorts.
“People can now shop from the comfort of their home or office
and know that their loved one will know they are thinking of them,”
said Tammy Patterson, the store’s manager, in a press release.
The only problem may be that by the time the gift is ordered, that
loved one could be out of the hospital — not only do the site’s
shoppers lack the means to view what the store sells, but they are
obligated to place their orders over the phone or by e-mail.
