Plenty of independent bike shops tell us that selling online isn’t for them. Picking and packing, dropping prices to compete with online retailers, bikes that need building and fitting before they can be shipped: there are fair arguments for leaving ecommerce alone.
Selling online and showing your stock online are two separate things. Listing what you stock on your website, with live availability and prices, puts your inventory in front of riders 24/7/365. It creates a shop window that works while you’re asleep, and brings customers through the door already sure you have what they came for.
Decisions are made before journeys are made
A rider looking for their next bike or a new part typically checks what’s available before they even think about leaving the house. If your website shows a frame in their size, in stock, at a price they’re happy with, you may not have won the sale just yet, but you’ve prevented the customer skipping over you in favor of the store down the road. If they can’t find what they’re looking for (regardless of if you have it in stock), they’re unlikely to pick up the phone and call you to check. Not when other local stores are showing the item as available online.
Among US retailers sharing data with PeopleForBikes, two-thirds of shops sold at least some of their inventory online this year, but for the median shop it adds up to just 3.9% of revenue. The top 25% of shops take 85% of all online revenue. The trend is clear; riders are searching and buying online. Some shops are just serving those customers better than others.
The race to the bottom isn’t really happening
We often hear the fear that online selling means competing on price alone. The ‘race to the bottom’ is an argument you may have seen made on forums and in trade publications. The data from US retailers points elsewhere. According to PeopleForBikes’ Data Suite, year-to-date figures show bikes sold online averaged $2,310 against $1,543 in store, and the same pattern holds across parts and accessories.
A rider who likes to do their research (and only wants to make the journey when they’re sure the item is in stock) isn’t someone who’s searching for a discount. Price is a factor, but retailers shouldn’t underestimate the role of convenience. Being able to reserve an item online, pay with their preferred method and collect at a time and date that works for the customer is often all it takes to win the sale.
The sale still finishes at your counter
Click & Collect (where customers buy online and collect from your store) still brings people through your door, where your team can check the fit, talk them through the setup and book the first service. The same data we’ve been referring to shows this is where the bulk of online revenue comes from: orders collected in store rather than shipped.
That’s the answer to the picking and packing problem often raised. A collection order asks nothing of you that a phone reservation doesn’t already: just put it to one side, no packaging, no courier, no dispatch to organize.
The PeopleForBikes data shows online’s share of sales climbing through the winter, peaking at 15.3% in December against 7.0% in June. Your website does more of the selling at the time of year when fewer riders are coming through the door.
A shop window that stays open 24/7
Showing stock online only helps your business if the numbers are right. A bike listed as available after the last one sold sends a customer away disappointed, in the same way a product page without photos or specs gives them little reason to choose you over the next search result.
When you go the extra mile to make the buying journey as easy as possible for your customers, everybody wins. Citrus-Lime goes the extra mile with you, making sure your till, website and Click & Collect all draw from the same stock record in real time.
The Supplier Integration Module (SIM) pulls product data straight from your suppliers, and AutoSIM brings their images and descriptions through to your web listings, so new stock can go live without being written up by hand.
Behind that, Citrus-Lime’s in-house digital marketing team handles web design, SEO and Google Shopping campaigns, so riders searching in your area find your shop rather than someone else’s.
Let’s go the extra mile, together
Find out how Citrus-Lime partners with bike shops like yours.
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