Online price vs the price in the store

[BluHevn]

I noticed sometimes the price of an item online is cheaper than the price for the same item in the actual store. What's up with that?

 

[gtyellowjacket]

Lower rent, lower shrinkage. I talked to a guy high up at Lowe's hardware one time and he said the shrinkage, I.e shoplifting and employee theft, was the difference between his price and an online price.

The store had higher rents, higher insurance costs, but the labor costs including shipping was actually higher for the online guys. Everything basically evened out except for the shrinkage.

There might also be some kind of competition issues. Once you're in the store, you're in the store and you're probably going to make the purchase from them. If you're online, it's trivial to look at dozens of competitors prices and compare.

 

[BluHevn]

Lower rent, lower shrinkage. I talked to a guy high up at Lowe's hardware one time and he said the shrinkage, I.e shoplifting and employee theft, was the difference between his price and an online price.

The store had higher rents, higher insurance costs, but the labor costs including shipping was actually higher for the online guys. Everything basically evened out except for the shrinkage.

There might also be some kind of competition issues. Once you're in the store, you're in the store and you're probably going to make the purchase from them. If you're online, it's trivial to look at dozens of competitors prices and compare.

Maybe it's the shrinkage. I was talking more about when you order something online and pick it up at the store instead of having it shipped. I went to Petsmart to get something and the same item was $4 cheaper if you ordered it online and picked it up at the store. I just ordered it online while I was in the store.

 

[GeeWhy]

 

[BluHevn]

 

[NYCBlueBlood]

Maybe it's the shrinkage. I was talking more about when you order something online and pick it up at the store instead of having it shipped. I went to Petsmart to get something and the same item was $4 cheaper if you ordered it online and picked it up at the store. I just ordered it online while I was in the store.

 

[gtyellowjacket]

Maybe it's the shrinkage. I was talking more about when you order something online and pick it up at the store instead of having it shipped. I went to Petsmart to get something and the same item was $4 cheaper if you ordered it online and picked it up at the store. I just ordered it online while I was in the store.

That is odd. From a cost perspective, I can see there being lower costs not having to stock the shelves but the others seem pretty close. Maybe shrinkage. Maybe it's easier to respond to different supplier costs online than it is to send someone to change the price tags at the store.

It's probably something as simple as the online division reporting up through a completely different structure than the in-store division and just not talking to each other.