The shift to e-commerce was made several years ago at Oberson, a sports equipment store in Laval. Since then, the strategy has evolved and the company is beginning to reap the rewards of its efforts. Daniel L’Ecuyer, Vice President of Oberson, has agreed to give his five tips in the field ali express.

 

1 – Launch, it is essential to survive!

“A retail business cannot survive if it does not have a website,” says Daniel L’Écuyer. “A lot of people come to the store because they saw our items online. People do not want to go to 10 stores anymore: they shop online before they move. ”

 

2 – Put people in full time

“Before, I had a manager who took care of the Web part-time, but two years ago, we wanted to be more involved because it became unavoidable and he started full-time. He is an autodidact and without him we would not be where we are today. He trained others to create a team. The Web is 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We must update the site, process purchase orders, billing, sending products. It takes people to take care of it. Now, at home, a team of 10 people does just that. ”

 

3 – Supports delivery costs and offers in-store collection

“Yes, delivery is expensive,” says Daniel L’Écuyer. “Imagine, I send skis in free shipping! But that’s part of the game. You also have to offer the option of in-store pickup. At first, I wondered why people wanted to do that, but I realized that people do not like to wait. Neither after delivery, nor after a store seller. They pick up their order and everything is settled quickly. ”

 

4 – Wait for it to be long to start

“Investing in the Web is expensive because you have to buy software, advertise, and the worst is that it’s a long time to get started. The first years are not easy. But, it must be seen as the opening of a new store. That’s exactly that. Then, it ends up starting. We, for example, are beginning to think that soon we will need to rent a new warehouse to meet the needs of the Web. ”

 

5 – Seize the opportunity to develop new markets

“The Web ends up helping to find new markets. For example, we sell a lot in parts of Quebec where there is not really a specialized store with a good choice of sports equipment. Then, there are no borders with the Web. I even sent a coat to New Zealand! Our site is bilingual and we are currently attacking the English Canada market, particularly British Columbia, where there are many skiers. We work for better out in the search engines in English. Eventually, we will work to conquer the American market, but we must go one step at a time. “