Should the “big box” stores like Wal-Mart, CostCo, Super Target and Sam’s Club be watching their backs?
According to some new data, and also this year’s early holiday shopping trends, it may just be that the days of one store being the end-all, be-all for a customer are over.
Not too long ago, many customers would rely on a single retailer for many of their household, clothing, grocery, electronics, entertainment, pharmacy and even automotive needs. Customers might have gone to the store simply to look for a movie, but would end up leaving with various cross-sells and other non-related products.
It was the convenience that made these large retailers successful. However with online shopping becoming more and more prevalent, the same customers can easily find the retailers who are the best in their niche, can now make purchases with a few clicks, and can even have the items delivered to their door.
Shoppers still value convenience but now have other ways to find it: all the social networking sites, deal sites, and other tools on the web.
Shoppers can shop for products easily online and also discover niche retailers for all the things they want, even the things they didn’t know they wanted. Sites like Pinterest and various shopping social networks are making it easier for customers around the world to discover these niche retailers.
Further evidence, groceries now account for over half of Walmart sales, while categories like electronics have fallen due to the emergence of niche retailers.
“We are in the new day and age of the niche retailer, where it’s better to be really good at one thing than just OK at 100 different things. Shoppers are much more efficient and have many more avenues to find niche retailers now. So shoppers will be able to quickly go to each niche retailer and shop for the exact product they want at the price they can afford,” says Sam Sisakhti, Founder and CEO of UsTrendy ( the largest Independent Fashion website where 20,000 vendors from 100 countries sell their clothing).
The days of being everything to everyone are over. Big retail is shrinking as niche retail grows, and that growth makes it ever easier for customers to shop for just what they want at the best niche retailer that is offering it.
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Tags: Accounting, Small Business
