There is little doubt in today’s society that the brick and mortar retail store is struggling. For instance, there seems like there are closing every day, whether that is Sports Authority or other stores. Many stores are struggling with the demands placed on them by an online retail environment that specializes in finding buyers exactly what they want.
It is said that Amazon has killed retail stores. The reason being is that Amazon offers all kinds of goods, complete with user reviews that give a breakdown of the product and what the product is like and what the cons are to the product, while at affordable prices. Amazon in effect, allows businesses to connect directly with customers. The supplies that is.
Because of that, retail stores have struggled and in the past ten years many have shut down. Circuit City, Sports Authority, and other stores have felt the crush of going toe to toe with Amazon and other online retailers. Their prices have been undercut and their general profits have been lowered.
Some niche stores are still surviving however. There are still large chain stores–Dick’s, Best Buy, Target, and Wal-Mart still operating strong but it is the niche stores that can build a brand and appeal to a certain kind of audience that have the ability to handle the onslaught from the online retail stores.
The niche stores have the opportunity to differentiate themselves in a crowded retail landscape by offering selective pricing, attractive color combinations, attractive signing, ability to connect with a customer and build brand loyalty through exemplary customer service, and to offer a bunch of products in one place.
It is certainly possible to find online goods if one searches for them, particularly in a niche environment. But a niche store, like a skateboarding store that traffics in both regular skateboard and electric skateboards and even gas skateboards complete with skateboarding how-tos and skateboarding clothes has a better chance of succeeding.
Allowing companies to come with the entire package–equipment down to the clothes–enables a store to become the one stop shop for all things needed for that niche. It is possible to build a customer appreciation by allowing the customers to try the equipment–something they can’t do online, which is important if you’re buying something like a skateboard.
Take in these current facts about skateboarding:
- Only 3.1% of skate board sales occur in sporting good stores
- The average cost of skateboarding shoes is between $50 and $100.
- 77% of skateboarders prefer to buy their skateboarding products at small specialty skate shops rather than at big retailers or online
Skate board shops are the type of niche store that survives in today’s crowded retail environment, as they’re big on building brand and engendering customer loyalty in an audience that is already prone to go against the norm. About 11 million people say they skate board on a regular basis and that is a good amount of customers for a niche.
Skate board shops have an additional appeal to some skate boarders: They carry clothes that make them look good. People decide on your trustworthiness in a tenth of a second. And there are two statistics that show just how attractiveness is important (as it is toward trustworthiness).
An unattractive person has a 62% chance to receive a callback after an interview, while an attractive person has a 72% chance to receive a callback after an interview. Everyone wants to look their best, whether it is for their friends or their loves or their employers; everyone wants to look their best.
Some skateboarding shops have attractive clothing in them. Some even have the brand called Supreme in their stores. There are many types of Supreme clothes, including Supreme hats, Supreme shirts, Supreme caps, Supreme backpacks, and the Supreme logo shirt. They are billed as stylish, with an emphasis towards men, helping them look their best.
Supreme gear in Los Angeles is one of the new stated hip trends. Supreme gear in Los Angeles has all the perks for skate boarders: It’s cool, it’s hip, it makes people look attractive when they wear it. Supreme gear in Los Angeles has niche appeal. Supreme gear in Los Angeles bolsters retail sales.
