I was reading an article in the NY Times today about how brick and mortar companies are starting to look at the validity of their sites. The basic idea is that retailers that judge the success of their web site by its profitability may be missing the point. I know for one, I have spent many hours researching products on retailer web sites before hitting the stores. A recent example is when I purchased my home entertainment center awhile back. I spent a couple of weeks off and on browsing manufacturers, reading reviews, checking prices at several places, checking availability and never once did I use a drop of gas or step foot in my car (which I also researched online heavily). Although I didn’t spend a dime at Best Buy online, I did make a decision to purchase through them because of using their web site.
So if you are the CEO of big retailer reading this article I say keep the sites up and add more product informaiton.
