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this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2024
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In SEARS case... just going back to what they originally did. They were Amazon before the internet. You got a catalog in the mail, sent in your order and payment, and they would ship you the product. It's literally the exact same business. It's not even like Amazon came out of nowhere to be as big as it is today, it was on a clear trajectory, at any time SEARS could have jumped into the ring with the business they originally were instead of sticking to the clearly dying department store model.
It's not even that, they could've easily kept their store locations. They just needed to move their catalog online and it would've been a done deal.
They did, but they waited until Amazon was ahead to do it. If I remember correctly they were more expensive than Amazon with no where near the selection of specialty stuff like computer parts or electronics. It meant that Sears was a place I basically never went to except if I was looking for something I literally couldn't find anywhere else.
The thing is, Sears already had the massive infrastructure in place to do it. The downside would have been trying to get their target market to make the switch during a time when Internet wasn't as ubiquitous and there still wasn't much trust in purchasing online.
But why would they even need their target market to switch? They needed to also do online shopping: with their existing distribution, their existing catalog, their existing delivery or in-store pickup. They already had most of the pieces so just needed the online part to bring in new customers or keep customers from switching
Which is crazy, because pre-Amazon Sears was exactly the place that had everything, especially appliance repair and parts. They never did have computer stuff but I wouldn’t use Amazon for that either.
If they had come up with a good interface.
There are a couple of stores that I have seen that used to be brick and mortar or catalog based and made the transition to online but their website is terrible.
McMaster-Carr comes to mind. I'm never really sure if I have found the part I'm looking for whenever I shop on their website.
Maybe it's a skill issue, sure, but online shopping should not require an onboarding process.
McMaster-carr is amazing for technical parts. I love it.
I think McMaster's transition from catalog to website is brilliant. I've had younger crew be amazed when I gave them an old catalog; like keep it in the break room and flip through it while looking at McMaster on their phone.
I do wonder why they kept the black and white pictures.