So, Brent had a very good idea the other day about retail outlets becoming designed more for fulfilling Internet pick-up orders than in-store shopping, due to the high cost of shipping something like groceries to your house. So, let's think this through with a different kind of company: Best Buy. What is cheaper for Best Buy? A) To have several regional warehouses across the country and pay for shipping directly to the customer? Or B) To staff and purchase hundreds of retail locations across the country, ship the products in bulk to the distribution centers, and save on the direct shipping to the customer?
Obviously, this would just be a guessing game at this point, but I still feel like shipping directly to the customer could be cheaper if done correctly? January 19, 2007
The Future of Commerce
So, Brent had a very good idea the other day about retail outlets becoming designed more for fulfilling Internet pick-up orders than in-store shopping, due to the high cost of shipping something like groceries to your house. So, let's think this through with a different kind of company: Best Buy. What is cheaper for Best Buy? A) To have several regional warehouses across the country and pay for shipping directly to the customer? Or B) To staff and purchase hundreds of retail locations across the country, ship the products in bulk to the distribution centers, and save on the direct shipping to the customer?
Obviously, this would just be a guessing game at this point, but I still feel like shipping directly to the customer could be cheaper if done correctly?