Jul 21, 2007

Businesses use the Web for retailingBy Chris J. StarrsOnlineAthens.com

There are few retail businesses that haven’t felt the pervasive pull-and-tug of the Internet, and nobody knows that better than Chris Butts, general manager of Charmar Flower & Gift Shop.

There was a time when traditional retailing consisted of unlocking the front door of a business and waiting for customers to walk in to make purchases. The mail-order concept – reportedly developed in the 18th century by Benjamin Franklin – has made a significant impact in the history of retail and laid the foundation for what we now know as e-commerce.

“In our industry as a whole, the Internet is changing things,” said Butts, who has worked in his family’s 36-year-old business his whole life. “It used to be that if you needed flowers locally, you’d call your florist, and if you needed a delivery to somewhere else, you called your local florist and they’d wire the order to the appropriate company.

“We still do a little of that, but these days, if you want flowers sent to Seattle, you jump on the Internet and find a florist in Seattle to help you. Now that most people are so tech-savvy, we see a lot more of that. The Internet helps us greatly with repeat customers and with people who want to shop after our traditional business hours.”

There’s little argument that Internet shopping isn’t just a passing fancy. Shop.org reported that more than half the households in America now make some sort of online purchase, and Massachusetts-based Forrester Research predicts some $230 billion will be spent online in the coming year.

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