Shifting ecommerce trends

Technology no longer #1 in online sales -- clothing sales heat up

[gabby]

[washingtonpost.com ]

[jsinger]

Zappos chief executive Tony Hsieh said the company initially didn't offer free shipping for purchases and returns. But within six months of the site's launch in 1999, customers were clamoring for it. Establishing the policy of free shipping and returns allowed shoppers to order several styles of shoes ... That helped drive repeat business and customer loyalty, Hsieh said.

The business model proved so successful that the site now sells clothing, handbags and other accessories. Revenue was $597 million last year and is expected to reach $800 million this year. And merchandise is now promised to be delivered overnight.

No mention of profit? LOL

Last I heard, Zappos is finally making a tiny profit while attracting a raft of competitors.

[AffiliateDreamer]

I wonder if both zappos and endless are setting the bar on shipping, something which other ecommerce sites might be expected to do in the future. At the very least, it sure is a easy way for a big company to enter a market and re-set the standards on shipping! Zappos is now doing next-day-shipping because of amazon's endless.

[jsinger]

Endless is doing even better than free.

Just looked at their site and they are advertising:

"Overnight shipping is NEGATIVE $5. That's right! We pay YOU for shipping (really!)"

Says limited time offer.

[Beagle]

Shoes tend to be a special case - not so much for shipping to the customer as in the free returns, because it's impossible to know how they're going to fit. (My mom used to have us stand on a piece of paper in our stocking feet, trace around our feet, and send the paper in to Monkey Wards along with her catalog order so they could send the right size of shoes. Is there any way to do that online?) I don't see the same need for other items, and wonder how much business Zappos actually does in those.

I blame the debut of endless for the loss of the 70%/80% markdowns on some expensive shoes at Zappos. They just got me used to wearing high-quality shoes by selling $250 shoes for $40 and then pulled the rug out from under me by dropping those kinds of sales. I don't think it's a coincidence that this happened just at the time endless was starting up and Zappos decided to compete by going from just free shipping (with a charge for express shipping) to free overnight shipping. I'd rather have the sales, but that's just me.

One thing Zappos has going for them is the absolute best customer service team on the web. I don't know where they find them or how they train them, but they are good. That buys the kind of customer loyalty you can't get by offering free shipping.