Threshers offer shows the power of Internet shopping

Has the Internet changed our shopping habits forever? Are black business owners ready to harness the power that this global platform offers them in targeting their customers?

If you’re online then you cannot have escaped the plethora of discount vouchers being sent via email by friends and family over the past few weeks. The stores have caught on to the fact that we no longer want to pay high prices for our goods and services and are offering 20, 30 and in the case of Threshers the wine store a massive 40 per cent discount on their products.

But is it a case of too little, too late? Many of us have got used to shopping online. If you have the patience to wait for goods to arrive via delivery van or you local postie, then it can even present a small ‘thrill’ waiting for your packages to arrive. Of course if it is a large outlet you can also go to the store and pick up your purchase, or use the bargaining power that a quick web search via comparison sites such as Froogle,Kelkoo or PriceRunner will give you to drive down the price in store. Even the TV companies are getting in on the act. Recently the BBC have commissioned a program that shows us how to sell off our old possessions and buy new ones solely by using the internet.

So with all this information at our fingertips, are we seeing a change in the way information is communicated. Definitely yes I would say. Broadband has made shopping online more widespread. We now receive not just music, but films and TV programs via our set top boxes and down our telephone line. It becomes feasible to speculate that the high street will soon become obsolete.

Companies such as Amazon and Play.com have shown us that lower pricing on small ticket goods is achievable without a store front. Add to this the growing number of out of town shopping parks and we can see the trend that the local high street or town centre is going to have to fight in order to survive.

According to a report published in March 2006* Black businesses achieve 14.4 per cent of sales via the Internet, however the same report reveals that just over half (51.1%) of ethnic businesses in the Retail sector use no computing technology at all in their businesses, compared to 21.4% of non ethnic businesses in the same sector. This is a situation that could prove detrimental to future growth within the ethnic retail sector.

The Internet provides business owners with a marketplace that is unique. It is truly a place where transparency takes place. There is no ability to discrimate within the virtual world based on age old colour prejudices. It is therefore an ideal place to compete on a level playing field. It is also a good place to isolate and target your customers by promoting the fact that you are an ethnic business providing products specifically for your market. This example is set by eco-friendly businesses which specifically target people interested in buying products that are supplied, packaged and promoted in an ecologically sound manner.

Hugh MacLeod partner in the Stormhoek winery, cartoonist and “the most influential blogger in Britain” (Financial Times) states, “With Stormhoek and the Thresher’s offer, we are witnessing something truly remarkable. Welcome to the future of the internet. More powerful than television, more spontaneous than print, faster and more unpredictable than a deadly virus!”.

If you are not harnassing that power, you may find that you are losing out.

*ETHNIC MINORITY BUSINESSES IN ENGLAND; REPORT ON THE ANNUAL SMALL BUSINESS SURVEY 2003 ETHNIC BOOST

** If you are interested in the Threshers offer. Click this link to download a pdf. Offer ends 10th Dec 2006 so be quick. Web Coupon PDF