https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/1314080...her-online
So this week we've had two shoppers buying something at a price they've been happy to pay, and finding out if they'd got off their arse and gone into the shop they could have got it cheaper.
If you were happy to pay the number on the pricetag, stop moaning after the fact! One thought they had a bargain, and one had the expendable income to pay $5 for a head of broccoli. No sympathy from me.
No. Online shoppers pay a delivery fee for the service. The product price should not have a premium added simply because the shopper is online.
Sounds like we're not alone in charging different prices dependent on what platform our customers buy on. Buy our products on Trade Me and you'll be paying 10% more because that's what it they charge us in listing and success fees. Buy direct from us and in bulk and we'll cut a deal for you based on economies of scale and courier charges. Communication with sellers is key to getting the best price, and if the seller isn't up to speed in their customer communications then go elsewhere whether it be in store or online.
probably not much different from accommodation providers either, different prices for different markets, special events etc
Surely though online means lower premises costs, lower staff costs, and lower insurance, so maybe online should be cheaper...
Dynamic pricing has been around for many years. On-line shoppers have ample opportunity to check prices and I don't think this example warrants all the headlines and fuss. Caveat Emptor.
Just another greedy business rip-off.
Super-profits becoming the norm.
The unbridled market place at work emptying your pockets as fast as possible, as if it can continue forever.
Online prices are sometimes loaded as harm_less mentioned, to cover platform fees etc I think also because the convenience of ordering online and delivery to the door is something people will actually pay a premium for... and those folks probably won't ever be instore to check prices anyway...
I think it's only reasonable for businesses to make it clear when they are charging different rates at different times. Each one doing it likely has different costs, risks and supply chains and it's up to the buyer to check out alternatives.
When I first realised a long time ago that some TradeMe traders did it I thought it reasonable to add in the success fees cost and possibly an extra margin if they get more run around from TM buyers. I now deal directly with one supplier that I use occasionally for electronic purchases because they a have a good record and I trust them and their systems to be secure. But for others, I still use TradeMe for the convenience of having a one-stop-shop and the extra safety that TM provides for transactions. I hear complaints about TMs customer service but have never needed to use it and I find that everything I buy via TM goes smoothly and reduces the risk of having my credit card number spread more widely on the internet. So I don't mind paying a couple of extra dollars.
Another example though is years ago when I went to a conference, the accommodation booking via the conference hadn't been done and in sorting that out I realised that paying direct was cheaper. So I complained loudly to the conference organisers that they were ripping off their members in clipping the ticket like that when it was being presented as a "deal" for the members. But that's private, not business.
At the supermarket, if their staff are going to walk the aisles compiling grocery orders for people to save the customers the hour or so it would take them to do the same, I think the service should be charged for. I appreciate that one supermarket staffer can do it much more quickly and efficiently and that it reduces the congestion (and therefore covid risk) at the supermarket, but it still takes time that has to be covered somewhere in the supermarket overheads if it isn't charged for.
The idea of businesses always being greedy and on the take is largely nonsense. Of course some are, just in any negative generalisation there are some that are guilty, but most businesses are just ordinary people struggling to make a living and need to be supported when it's appropriate to do so. If buying online saves you an hour of time and the fuel it would take to drive to the shop, then fine if you can sit at home and do your shopping online. And if the supplier charges a few dollars because somewhere in their processes there is a cost incurred that I don't know about, I'm not going to get too hung up about it. At the end of the day I can choose how I want to shop each time I want to buy something.
(06-03-2023, 08:29 AM)king1 Wrote: [ -> ]Online prices are sometimes loaded as harm_less mentioned, to cover platform fees etc I think also because the convenience of ordering online and delivery to the door is something people will actually pay a premium for... and those folks probably won't ever be instore to check prices anyway...
Other than supermarket shopping (which is minimal for us due to being largely self sufficient in meat and produce) we buy very little in store. On the odd occasion that we do it is usually for a significant item such as an appliance or power tool which we research thoroughly online prior to setting foot instore.
I actually find it to be disempowering to shop in store without having checked spec's and prices online prior to looking at the physical item. The lack of product knowledge that many salespeople have is also far from helpful in attracting customers into B&M stores. When a salesperson reacts to a question about an item I'm looking at by reading its label info I'm out of there!
(06-03-2023, 08:54 AM)harm_less Wrote: [ -> ]...
I actually find it to be disempowering to shop in store without having checked spec's and prices online prior to looking at the physical item. The lack of product knowledge that many salespeople have is also far from helpful in attracting customers into B&M stores. When a salesperson reacts to a question about an item I'm looking at by reading its label info I'm out of there!
Absolutely. Most shop assistants in recent years seem to be there solely to monitor shoplifting, or at least that's the impression I get. Our local appliance/tech store has most of its stock either locked up behind glass, hidden behind the counter, or locked onto the shelving. Many times when I've asked to look at something I've been given a sigh of annoyance. Once, when I wanted to look at power banks to check capacities, connectors etc I was told "Tell me the one that you want and I'll get it". I try to support local businesses but have pretty well given up in favour of on line research and purchase.
I was impressed by one of the suppliers when I was running several tropical aquariums who pointed out his online customers got a discount because they cost his business less in overheads.
At least he had done the sums...
Just a thought, but that might also explain why when I online shop at my supermarket, with delivery, I get freebies. After all, freebies aren't really free, as we all know.
(06-03-2023, 09:43 AM)Oh_hunnihunni Wrote: [ -> ]I was impressed by one of the suppliers when I was running several tropical aquariums who pointed out his online customers got a discount because they cost his business less in overheads.
At least he had done the sums...
Just a thought, but that might also explain why when I online shop at my supermarket, with delivery, I get freebies. After all, freebies aren't really free, as we all know.
Any successful online seller knows that they must go the extra mile to overcome the lack of face to face contact that occurs in a B&M store. In order to foster good customer relations it is essential to have prompt and helpful friendly communications, efficient dispatch and delivery and the odd complimentary 'gift'. A low value 'free' gift will well and truly pay for itself in terms of ongoing repeat sales in most cases. Currently sales beyond a certain value from us will have a muslin produce bag included as a sweetener.
Bad service from B&M shop staff is just promoting customers to shop virtually and those retailers that take their customers for granted and treat them as walking wallets are usually the first and loudest to complain that online sellers are ruining their business.