The online bookstore as competitive edge: some are undisputed revenue generators; some are the best marketing tools a brick-and-mortar bookstore ever had. Either way, the online campus store is here to stay.When the online college bookstore boom hit five or so years ago, many college and university administrators were excited about the potential and, at the same time, apprehensive about the impact. Would the online stores be profitable, or a cost drain? Would students, faculty, and staff utilize the sites, or would they comparison shop online and buy books from more competitive retailers? Their concerns, as it turns out, were valid. Yet, even though today students do buy school texts and books online and elsewhere, the value and importance of the online campus store has certainly been established. In an age when Internet sales are reportedly growing by 20 percent annually, and an IHE's Web presence is a strategic differentiator, schools must offer comprehensive and user-friendly e-bookstore access if they wish to remain competitive. The big surprise is, an online bookstore does not have to generate hard revenue in order to be considered a success. Most colleges and universities with active bookstore sites see them not only as essential marketing tools for their physical stores, but also as invaluable real-time product and campus news information sources for students, alumni, and faculty. Whether it's a moneymaker or a cost center, the online bookstore is now a vital amenity a·men·i·ty n. pl. a·men·i·ties 1. The quality of being pleasant or attractive; agreeableness. 2. Something that contributes to physical or material comfort. 3. for everyone affiliated with the school. Still, it is how an online store is managed that largely contributes to its success. And while some schools have opted to manage their site in-house (most frequently with the help of the IT department and a Web design team, but sometimes via off-the-shelf management software), others have leased out their site for management by contract retailers. Over the past five years, through trial and error, many schools have discovered what works for their site and what doesn't. Now, as Web site development has become more advanced, schools are indeed starting to get innovative with their retailing ventures. Many have aggressively sought to add features that will set their sites apart from both IHE IHE Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise IHE Institutions of Higher Education IHE International Institute for Infrastructural, Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering (historical acronym only, replaced by: IHE Delft, the Foundation) and Web competitors in general. Who's doing what and how are they faring? Take a look at these snapshots of seven schools determined to build long-term online bookstore success, each via a unique vision. University of Oregon The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities. Store: University of Oregon Bookstore--www.bookstore.com Serving: 20,000 students (plus faculty, staff, and alumni) Web Launch: 1998 Store Type: Independent, nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. Contact: Jim Williams Jim or Jimmy Williams can refer to: In American football:
What's for Sale: Apparel general merchandise Hottest Seller: Apparel Partnerships: Dell Apple, Booksense Competitive Features: * Home page links directly to bookstore site, providing easy access/convenience for viewers * Weekly Featured Items section * Staff Favorites section * Textbook reservations * Textbook requisitions for faculty * Bestseller List of fiction and nonfiction * Shipping is $5-$13, based on order * "Because the bookstore is owned not by the university, but by the students, faculty, and staff, we hove more autonomy." Sales Stats: Online sates increase 10-12% annually * "Our relationship with the athletic department has helped us grow sales." Challenge: "We haven't sold books online, but will, to meet customer demand." Bottom Line: Profitable * "The online store is not only profitable, it has the single most potential to grow our bookstore sales." University of Vermont Store: UVM UVM University of Vermont UVM Universidad del Valle de México UVM Universitas Viridis Montis (University of the Green Mountains aka University of Vermont) UVM Universal Voice Module (Cisco) Bookstore--uvm.store.uvm.edu Serving: 9,000 students (plus faculty, staff, and alumni) Web Launch: 1998 Store Type: University owned, for-profit Contact: Jay Menninger, manager What's for Sale: Textbooks, general books, apparel, dorm supplies (including refrigerators and mattresses) Hot Seller: Vermont maple syrup maple syrup: see under maple. ($50,000 in sales over the last five years, with a sates increase of 10-15% each year) Hottest Seller: Textbooks Partnerships: Nebraska Book Company (providing management software, outsourced services and staff, and products for college bookstores), Boise Cascade Boise Cascade Holdings, LLC, which uses the trade name Boise, is an American pulp and paper company, ranked as the thirteenth largest forest products company in the world. * "The Nebraska Book Company's software is a slick system. It operates on fairly real time, so if it says we have something in stock, we have it in stock." Competitive Features: * Offers online-only apparel promotions * Textbook reservations * Textbook requisitions for faculty * $7.95 shipping (flat rate) * Promotes bookstore site in-store by passing out free Web site [awards, coffee cups, and pins Sales Stats: Nonbook non·book n. A book having little or no literary merit or substance, often published to exploit a fad. adj. Of, relating to, or being something other than a book, such as microfilm or microfiche in a library. online sales have increased 20-25% annually * "If only in-store sales were doing as well as online sales, we could have retired. They're up 7 percent, but that's not as good as online sales. " * Total online sales have grown from $25,000 in 2000, to $548,000 in 2003 * "Our textbook sales skyrocketed after we added online textbook reservation in "99." Challenge: "The site is huge compared to what I've seen at other schools. As it is, everybody wants us to be L.L Bean, so we're trying to meet that demand by making the site even bigger." Bottom Line: Profitable Swarthmore College Swarthmore College, at Swarthmore, Pa.; coeducational; founded 1864 by the Society of Friends. It maintains a cooperative program with Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, and the Univ. of Pennsylvania. Store: Swarthmore College Bookstore--bookstore.swarthmore.edu Serving: 1,350 students (plus faculty, staff, and alumni) Web Launch: 1995 Store Type: University owned, nonprofit Contact: Kathleen Grace, director What's for Sale: Textbooks, apparel, general merchandise Hottest Sellers: Apparel and gifts * "As a smaller store, it's difficult for us to do cutting-edge, exciting stuff." Partnerships: ePOS from Sequoia sequoia (sĭkwoi`ə), name for the redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and for the big tree, or giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), both huge, coniferous evergreen trees of the bald cypress family, and for extinct related species. Retail Systems, Inc. Competitive Features: * Families can order care packages for birthdays and midterm mid·term n. 1. The middle of an academic term or a political term of office. 2. a. An examination given at the middle of a school or college term. b. midterms A series of such examinations. stress relief * Students with bookstore debit accounts and their parents can deposit funds online, directly into a student's account * Faculty Picks (faculty recommended books for incoming students) * Shipping is $3.95-$7.95, based on order * "The debit account deposits are very popular. Kids call home and say, 'I need more money," and parents can log on and make the deposit. It's a convenience for them, but benefits us, too." Who's Buying: * 1% of students buy textbooks online Challenge: "Only four employees (no IT people) makes it tough to keep the site fresh. But we can provide better customer service than if we had leased out to a contract retailer." Bottom Line: Not making a profit * "Until we pay all site maintenance expenses, we won't make a profit. We're close to breaking even, but still losing money." University of Colorado University of Colorado may refer to:
Store: CU Bookstore--cubooks.colorado.edu Serving: 28,000 graduate and undergraduate students (plus faculty, staff, and alumni) Web Launch: Launched in 1995, started selling products in 1999 Store Type: University owned, nonprofit Contact: Pamela Mills, director What's for Sale: Textbooks, general books, course catalogs Noun 1. course catalog - a catalog listing the courses offered by a college or university course catalogue, prospectus catalog, catalogue - a book or pamphlet containing an enumeration of things; "he found it in the Sears catalog" , school supplies, apparel, general merchandise Hottest Sellers: Apparel, general merchandise * "The key is to pick high-volume merchandise that moves quickly. " Partnerships: Booksense, Boise Cascade, Dell, Apple, Gateway * "Sometimes you don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. whether you're on one of our partners" sites or ours. We wanted a seamless transition for our students, and didn't want them to feel like they were being bounced around." Sales Stats: Online sales have increased 15-20% since 1999 (more rapidly than physical store sales) Competitive Features: * Shipping is $6-$35, on order of $100-$500. Over $500, 5% of order. * New Products page in Apparel section * Extensive graduation section Challenge: "Our students say they're not sure they can trust [independent bookstore] sites. They wonder: Is it really the right book? Can I return it? What happens if it doesn't come? How do I resolve questions and issues? With our site, all of these questions get answered." Bottom Line: Profitable * "But we're not a for-profit group trying to slam down sales: we're an auxiliary fund." Harvard University Harvard University, mainly at Cambridge, Mass., including Harvard College, the oldest American college. Harvard College Harvard College, originally for men, was founded in 1636 with a grant from the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Store: The Harvard/MIT COOP--www.thecoop.com (Information here is based solely on Harvard's section of the Coop site.) Serving: 18,000-20,000 students (plus faculty, staff, and alumni) Web Launch: 1994 Store Type: Independent, for-profit (shares One Touch Shopping bookstore site with Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at Cambridge; coeducational; chartered 1861, opened 1865 in Boston, moved 1916. It has long been recognized as an outstanding technological institute and its Sloan School of Management has notable programs in business, ) Contact: Jerry Murphy Jerry Murphy (born 23 September 1959 in Stepney, London) is a retired footballer, who played as a midfielder. Murphy started out with Terry Venables' Crystal Palace, making 269 appearances between 1978 and 1985, and scoring 25 goals. , president of the Harvard Cooperative Society cooperative society Noun a commercial enterprise owned and run by customers or workers, in which the profits are shared among the members What's for Sale: Apparel, general merchandise * "Someday some·day adv. At an indefinite time in the future. Usage Note: The adverbs someday and sometime express future time indefinitely: We'll succeed someday. Come sometime. we'll sell books online, when we figure out the best operational way to sell them. We would want to make sure the books we put online are reflective of our company and the personality of the Coop. " Partnerships: Affinity Identity Programs (provider of online catalog Similar to an online library or databases in the information storage respect, ‘’’online catalogs’’’ allow potential customers to browse a company’s items for sale from a different location using the internet. fulfillment orders); B Sharp Technologies (custom software development and integration provider; builder of the Coop's Web site); Ringware, Inc; M. LaHart & Company; Herff Jones Herff Jones is an American company, based in the state of Indiana, that produces class rings, caps and gowns, insignia jewelry, graduation announcements, yearbooks, maps, globes, medals and awards. It was founded in 1920 by Harry J. Herff and Randall H. , Inc. * Site directly links to these companies' sites * "We're big on outsourcing. It helps us to expand assortment without taking the inventory risks associated with it. These manufacturers are set up to drop-ship goods directly to the customer." Relationships: Tiffany Tiffany, Tiffanie (UK) a semi-longhaired version of the Burmese cat. It has a fine, silky coat in many colors. & Company; Brooks Brothers Brooks Brothers is the oldest surviving men's clothier in the United States, founded in 1818. The privately owned company is owned by Retail Brand Alliance, a spinoff of Luxottica, and is headquartered on Madison Avenue in New York City. , CheLsea Clocks (the site selLs these goods but does not directly [ink to sites) Competitive Features: * Clearance Items section, with Web deals that often differ from those offered in-store * Patronage Rebate (If the Coop earns a profit during the year, a portion is returned annually to members, as a patronage refund. Membership is $1 per year and members receive a 10% discount at checkout) * Faculty Services page (provided by Barnes & Noble College Bookstores, Inc.) includes Faculty Center Network (faculty can browse over 125,000 textbooks with accompanying info) and textbook requisitions for faculty * What's New page (lists events, discussions, and readings that take place in the campus bookstore) * Shipping is $7.50-$16.50, based on order, up to $200; over $200, shipping is 8% Who's Buying: Alumni are biggest buyers * "From a selling point selling point n. An aspect of a product or service that is stressed in advertising or marketing. Noun 1. selling point - a characteristic of something that is up for sale that makes it attractive to potential customers , we look at the Web as a way to communicate to far-flung alumni and affiliates of Harvard and MIT MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology . They are our focus." Bottom Line: Profitable University of Washington Store: University Bookstore--www.bookstore.washington.edu Serving: 42,000 students (plus faculty, staff, and alumni) Web launch: 1995 Store Type: Independent, for-profit Contact: Bryan Pearce Walter Bryan Pearce (25 July1929 – 11 January,2007) was a British painter. He was recognised as one of the UK's leading naïve artists. Early life Pearce was born in St. Ives, Cornwall, which remained his home for the rest of his life. , bookstore CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. What's for Sale: Textbooks, general books, school supplies, apparel and accessories, general merchandise Partnerships: Apple, Dell, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , Toshiba, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, Booksense Competitive Features: * Textbook requisitions for faculty * Textbook reservations * Free gift wrapping with six varieties of wrapping to choose from * University Bookstore mailing list An automated e-mail system on the Internet, which is maintained by subject matter. There are thousands of such lists that reach millions of individuals and businesses. New users generally subscribe by sending an e-mail with the word "subscribe" in it and subsequently receive all new (sign up to receive online bookstore updates) * Staff-recommended books * Faculty author selection (where faculty authors' work is highlighted) * 8% patronage refund for students, faculty, and staff * The university offers a 14% lower discount on textbooks online than does Amazon.com (with patronage discount) * Free shipping for general book orders; $2.50 + $1 per item for textbooks; $3-$7 for apparel and general merchandise, based on order * "We scour scour, scours 1. the chemical and physical cleaning of fleece wool. 2. diarrhea. dietetic scour see dietary diarrhea. peat scour see secondary nutritional copper deficiency. the world to find truly deep subject matter to include in our store. Our students and faculty love that they can get books here that they can't find anywhere else." Sales Stats: * 1.4% of general book sales are from online sales * 3% of textbook sales are from online sales Who's Buying: * 5% of students buy textbooks on the bookstore site * 1.5% of faculty, staff, and students buy general books from the site Challenge: "While buying textbooks abroad for lower prices is certainly a new and compelling alternative for students, we believe that our value proposition will keep our students with us. But it's frustrating frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: : When a product is available at 30 to 40 percent below what we can charge, no matter how good a retailer you are, you cannot respond to that." Bottom Line: Not making a profit * "It's break-even at best, in dollars and cents. But from a non-financial standpoint, it's been profitable in its ability to encourage customer retention and responsiveness." University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. Store: UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX Store--www.uclaestore.com Serving: 35,000 students (plus faculty, staff, and alumni) Store Type: Independent, nonprofit * "Our site is totally independent. We wanted to do it in-house and be in control of what is presented; we didn't want to work through a third party to get changes executed." Contact Keith Schoen, director of Retail Operations What's for Sale: Apparel, general merchandise, textbooks, books Hottest Seller: Apparel Partnerships: Apple, Dell, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Gateway, Champion, Russell Athletics, Jansport Competitive Features: * 24-hour call service for Web orders/questions * Textbook requisitions for faculty * Textbook reservations * Shipping is $3.95 + .95 for each additional book; $5-$11 for apparel, based on order; free shipping for orders $100 and up Sales Stats: Mail, phone, and Web textbook orders were $250,000 in 1997; have grown to $1 million in 2003 Bottom Line: Profitable * "Having a site is a service issue, not a profitability issue." 12 Tips to Bookstore Site Success Launching or hoping to improve your campus bookstore Web site? Don't miss these smart tips from Paul Schmalhofer, vice president, Campus Bookstore Consulting (www.cbcconsult.com). 1--Design a bookstore Web site that is appropriate for your campus community. The depth of product offerings and scope of your bookstore's Web site will vary greatly, depending on the size and complexity of your institution. 2--Promote your bookstore's mission statement. If, for instance, service and value pricing For the strategic management concept, see . In public roads and transport, value pricing or road pricing is the practice of raising funds by charging users directly rather than via taxation. are your mission, remind your site visitors with price blasts, service reminders, and more. 3--Ensure that your core business of textbooks and course materials is appropriately supported by your bookstore Web site. Don't offer it in the store and neglect to mirror it online. 4--Install user-friendly "purchase on demand" features. Allow visitors to navigate desired products with easy-to-locate descriptive links. 5--Don't miss the obvious! Make sure the bookstore site is accessible (via link) from your college or university Web site's home page. 6--Make your site an information source. Provide relevant faculty and student informational services. Don't make your site shoppers go elsewhere to find the info they need in order to purchase texts, course materials, and more. 7--Increase faculty adoption compliance and used textbook acquisition through the online adoption process. Provide a paper-free online adoption form; adoption receipt will be more timely, resulting in the acquisition of more used textbooks at a discount to students. 8--Build bookstore brand awareness with timely message board information. Communicate to your visitors "What's news," and promote special events and in-store promotions. Don't, however, litter the board with operating policies. 9--Maximize sales and academic image through the support of campus events and special appearances. Author book signings, for instance, are one highly effective route. 10--Increase sales volume with an online merchandise catalog "value story." Wow customers with quality T-shirts under $10, lifetime guarantees on backpacks, and other "value-adds." 11--Edit and update your online catalog on a timely basis. Nothing alienates shoppers more quickly than ordering and learning later that items were "out of stock." Conversely con·verse 1 intr.v. con·versed, con·vers·ing, con·vers·es 1. To engage in a spoken exchange of thoughts, ideas, or feelings; talk. See Synonyms at speak. 2. , why miss sales on an item that's hot in the campus store, but not yet added to the online catalog? 12--Monitor sales results. What's selling? What's not? What's flying out of the store and could be reordered quickly? Your sales velocity will determine required stock levels, as well as items to discontinue dis·con·tin·ue v. dis·con·tin·ued, dis·con·tin·u·ing, dis·con·tin·ues v.tr. 1. To stop doing or providing (something); end or abandon: . |
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